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Class... 

Book .. 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






MALDEN HEALTH SERIES 


HEALTH 



PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH, MASSACHUSETTS INSTI¬ 
TUTE OF technology; SOMETIME ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF 
HYGIENE, TUFTS MEDICAL SCHOOL ; DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION 
STUDIES AT MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS; CHAIRMAN, HEALTH 
SECTION, WORLD FEDERATION OF EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONS 

AND 


GEORGIE B. COLLINS 


DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION, MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS 



REVISED EDITION 


D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 


BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO ATLANTA 

DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO LONDON 






Copyright, 1924 and 1930 

By D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 

3 HO 



Printed in U. S. A 

©CIA 28327 


SEP is iWO 


PREFACE 


One of the most important and far-reaching Public 
Health movements of the present century is the rapid 
development of a systematic and positive Health Edu¬ 
cation Program on the part of the public schools. This 
program as it is understood today involves an organ¬ 
ized procedure within a school system which develops 
such habits, attitudes, and knowledge as will best pro¬ 
mote the physical and mental health of the pupil. Posi¬ 
tive health is the dominant note. We shall continue 
to correct the defects in school children and to give in¬ 
formation as such, but this is not enough. We recog¬ 
nize the responsibility of the school system, not only 
to give special consideration to those children who are 
ill, but also to so organize the whole school program 
as to prevent well children from becoming ill, and to 
promote normal, happy, buoyant health among all 
children. 

The general organization of such a program is 
fairly well agreed upon. It involves the training of 
children during the first few grades in proper habits 
of living. This training is based upon the natural 
interests of the child and it is primarily a process of 
motivating the child to do the right thing without a 
conscious attempt to convey knowledge as such. In 
iii 


iv PREFACE 

the intermediate grades, the first task is to answer the 
“why” of these health habits and then year by year 
to expand the knowledge of the child. This informa¬ 
tional material is in addition to the continuous motiva¬ 
tion program. It is not a substitute for it. The child’s 
continued interest in doing is the central theme of the 
health program throughout all grades. The informa¬ 
tional material should be expanded with the natural 
interests of the child, to furnish the reasons which 
underlie the development of proper habits. 

The teacher is the chief stone in the arch of school 
health. She holds together the work of the various 
specialists in the health field, interprets the program 
to the child, and makes it real. Without the teacher’s 
sympathetic cooperation every phase of a school health 
program will fail to accomplish what it should. Her 
task is not merely one of instruction. It means allow¬ 
ing health to take its proper place throughout the 
school health program, the development of health atti¬ 
tudes as a normal interest in life, and the correlation 
of health with other subjects as these are built into 
the child’s personality. It means a practical interest 
in the health improvement of children. To the teacher 
who loves children, health education appears not as a 
new task but as an opportunity and an ideal. Al¬ 
though such a program may involve new activities for 
the already busy teacher the authors have no hesita¬ 
tion in recommending it, for it has been proved again 
and again and again that teaching from this view- 


PREFACE 


V 


point is more enjoyable than the mere presentation of 
subject matter. 

This book has been developed from three years of 
experimental studies in the intermediate and higher 
grades of the city of Malden, Massachusetts. All of 
the material and suggested procedures have been found 
successful in actual practice. Many devices are sug¬ 
gested in such a way that those which are most prac¬ 
tical for the individual room may be selected and 
developed by teacher and pupil. It is not merely a 
physiology but also a health program for pupils who 
have reached the point where they wish to know the 
reason for the health habits they are being taught. It 
may be used in the grades or in the one-room rural 
school where the responsibility for the health program 
is divided among individual pupils according to their 
age and accomplishments. 

The authors desire to express their sincere appre¬ 
ciation for the assistance of the school people of Mal¬ 
den. Superintendent F. G. Marshall and the School 
Board have made possible these studies as a part of 
their program for developing the best possible health 
activities for the school children of their city. The 
late Lewis Wightman of the Faulkner School, Mrs. 
Cora Dempsey, Principal of the West School and the 
teachers serving under them have given innumerable 
helpful suggestions and constructive criticisms and 
have individually assisted in the development of the 
work in a most cordial and sympathetic manner. The 


VI 


PREFACE 


authors .also express appreciation for the assistance of 
Miss .Bernice Andrews of the Cutler School, Somer¬ 
ville, Massachusetts, and Miss May Barry, formerly 
of the Faulkner School, Malden, Massachusetts, for 
criticisms and assistance in the final redrafting of the 
manuscript. 

The authors also wish to express grateful appre¬ 
ciation to the Department of Hygiene of Harvard 
University for permission to use the posture chart 
developed in that department, and to Miss Bertha M. 
Wood for permission to use one of her stories. 

C. E. T. 

G. B. C 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. What Is Health? . i 

II. The Health Game. 6 

III. Growth Is a Sign of Health. Are You 

Growing?.13 

IV. What Habits Make You Grow? ,. 22 

V. A Living Ship.27 

VI. Does Your Ship Need Repairs? ... 35 

VII. Growth and Repair Material ... 44 

VIII. Go Material ..53 

IX. Regulators and Food Magic* .... 61 

X. Iron Foods and Bone Builders ... 71 

XI. Digestion '.78 

XII. Keeping a Good Digestion .... 85 

XIII. When to Eat ..91 

XIV. The Teeth ..101 

XV. Keeping Clean.112 

XVI. How Do You Carry Yourself? ... 123 

XVII. Shaping Your Ship.131 

XVIII. The Care of the Feet.138 

XIX. Your Mind and Nervous System ... 147 

XX. Tea and Coffee.155 

vii 

















CONTENTS 


viii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXI. How Rest and Sleep Make You Grow . 161 

XXII . Harmful Substances—Alcohol, Drugs, and 

Tobacco.171 

XXIII. Circulation .. 178 

XXIV. Exercise. 187 

XXV. How Your Body Keeps the Same Tempera¬ 
ture . 195 

XXVI. Eyes and Ears.203 

XXVII. Safety. 215 

Appendix.223 

Index.230 










HEALTH 


I 

WHAT IS HEALTH? 

Health! This is such a familiar word that when 
you are suddenly faced with the question, “What is 
Health?” you think at once, “How easy! Any one 
can answer that!” But discuss it for a few minutes in 
class. You will be surprised to see how many dif¬ 
ferent ideas are expressed. 

Can you make a good definition of health? It is 
not so easy as making definitions in arithmetic and 
geography, for health is a feeling. It is better ex¬ 
pressed in what you do than in what you can say 
about it. 

It is something more than not being sick, isn’t it? 
There are some days when everything goes on like a 
song. You just cannot walk; you have to skip and 
run and hop! It seems as though you cannot keep still; 
you long to laugh and shout and sing! Nothing 
troubles you; you could not be cross! You are cheer¬ 
ful and happy, ready for everything—play, work, or 

i 


2 


HEALTH 



whatever comes along. That is the feeling of Health! 

Then there are other days. You are not exactly 
sick, but somehow everything goes wrong. You do 
not care if you never do anything. You are tired and 
cross. Everybody picks on you. Once in a while 
there are days worse than that. You lie in bed or 
you stay in the house; you are not hungry and you 
are not happy. You are sick. 

What price would you be willing to pay to get rid of 
the bad days and make every day a Health Day? 
Here is the story of how one boy did it. 

This boy was born in the city of New York many 
years ago. His people were wealthy and his father 
was prominent in public life. The family was a happy 
one, and it looked as though he was very lucky indeed. 
Unfortunately he had missed the most important 
thing of all, without which it is very hard to be really 
happy—he had missed Health. 




WHAT IS HEALTH? 


3 


When the boy was your age, he was so frail that 
he could not go to school with other children. He had 
to be taught at home by a private tutor. He was not 
strong enough to play the rough games that boys 
enjoy. 

He was very bright and was much interested in 
everything he saw or heard. A great deal of his time 
was spent in studying plants and animals, which he 
loved. He loved books, too. He knew almost by heart 
the lives of great Americans and explorers. He 
dreamed of doing great things himself some day, for 
he was ambitious and had strength of mind enough 
almost to make up for the frailness of his body. 

In spite of all his courage and ambition, there were 
often days when he felt too tired and weak to do much 
except read, or listen while some one read to him. He 
used to write often in his diary, “I am very tired to¬ 
day. I was awake nearly all night with the asthma.” 
This is a disease which causes difficult breathing. 
Night after night it kept him awake, so that day after 
day he was tired and worn. Finally his father decided 
that if the boy were ever to throw off this trouble, he 
must make a big fight against it at once. 

His family's wealth was a big help, for there was 
money with which to get everything the boy needed. 
As a beginning, his father fitted up for him a little 
open-air gymnasium in the house. Then he took his 
son to it, and said: “This is yours. I hope you will 
use it faithfully to help you build a strong body. You 


HEALTH 


4 

have a splendid mind, but you will never be able to go 
very far unless you build a body which will do the 
things that your mind wants to do. You yourself will 
have to train and build your body. It is going to be a 
long, hard job, but you can do it. I believe you have 
the determination to do it.” 

The lad lived up to his father’s expectations. When 
he was not as old as most of you, he began the long, 
hard job of building a strong body out of a weak one. 
Day after day found him exercising in his open-air 
gymnasium to build the broad, deep chest and strong 
muscles that were to support him in later years. His 
food, rest, study, play, and exercise were watched 
with greatest care. 

By the time he went to college, he was a good all¬ 
round athlete. He stood high in his studies, too. He 
was the best boxer in his class, in spite of the fact that 
he was extremely nearsighted and was obliged always 
to wear his glasses. Still he had to be saving of 
his strength. He spent much time exercising and 
playing in the open air to keep free from his old enemy, 
the asthma. Even after he left college and was begin¬ 
ning to be well known in public life, he found it neces¬ 
sary to go out West on a ranch for a long time. There 
he lived a simple out-of-door life which further 
strengthened the body he had been working so long 
to build. 

Years went on, and the man was sought for one 
important position after another. He was governor 


WHAT IS HEALTH? 


5 


of his state, vice president of his country, and finally 
he filled the office which is the highest honor given 
to an American—he was President of the United 
States! Many of you have already guessed his name 
—Theodore Roosevelt. 

Theodore Roosevelt has given us a fine example of 
how a boy can develop his body if he has the deter¬ 
mination to do it. Health is a result of what Nature 
gives you plus what you give yourself . Some of you 
have had the best kind of start. Others are not so 
strong. Probably not one of you has had so poor a 
beginning as Roosevelt, for you remember that when 
he was your age he was so sickly he could not even 
attend school. Have you the strength of mind to un¬ 
dertake building your body with the faithfulness and 
courage of a Theodore Roosevelt ? 

Questions to Answer 

1. What is health ? 

2. How can one earn health? 

3. Tell about any person you know who has done something 
worth while that he could not have done without health. 

Things to Do 

1. Tell in your own words what you can learn about 
Roosevelt. 

2. Arrange the following words to make true statements: 
Your health affected is more by you do what than by 
what know you. 

Health a result is what of Nature you gives plus what 
yourself you give. 


II 


THE HEALTH GAME 

Let me tell you another true story—a story of two 
boys very like any of you. Ted Miller and Jack 
Brown lived not far apart in a New England village, 
and were the best of friends. Ted was a year older 
than Jack and was always larger and stronger. When 
they were in the fourth grade, Jack was quite frail 
and sickly. He took such good care of himself, how¬ 
ever, that by the time they finished grammar school he 
had gained much in health and strength. 

The two boys entered High School together, anxious 
to do well in their studies and especially anxious to 
make the football team. Ted still had the advantage, 
for he was big and athletic in build. He made the 
team the first year, which is unusual, you know. Can 
you imagine how proud he was? Jack was proud of 
him, too. He tried hard to make the team himself, 
but the best he could do was to get a place on the sec¬ 
ond team. 

After the first football season was over, Ted began 
to be careless. You see he had always been so well 
that he thought he always would be. Then because he 
made the team so easily his first year he felt as though 
it would be very easy to stay on it. He seemed to 
think it did not matter whether or not he got to bed 
on time, and he ate whatever he wanted even when he 
6 


THE HEALTH GAME 


7 



knew it was not good for him. Of course no one 
noticed any change in Ted at first. Even Ted him¬ 
self did not know that anything was happening. 

The second year of football came. Ted played re¬ 
markably well. He was naturally one of the strongest 
boys in school, and with a year’s experience he was one 
of the best men on the team. Jack was still plodding 
away, although he had improved enough to earn a 
place as substitute. At the end of that season, Ted 
was elected captain of the team for the next year. 

Perhaps success was too much for him. Perhaps 
he had never understood that even a splendid body 
needs the best of care. Anyhow, he became still more 
careless of his daily habits. He began to walk in a 
slouchy way because he thought it looked smart and 
called attention to him. He wasted a lot of his time 





































8 


HEALTH 


in the evening at shows and hanging about the streets, 
smoking cigarettes. This meant that he always came 
home late. By the time he had half finished his les¬ 
sons for the next day, it was long past his proper 
bedtime. 

Jack liked to have a good time but he never broke 
training. He did his home lessons early in the eve¬ 
ning and got to bed at a regular time. He did not 
smoke cigarettes with Ted because he knew that while 
he was growing, cigarettes would keep him from 
building the best kind of body and from doing his 
best work in school. He knew also that alcohol, as 
well as tobacco, is always forbidden to men in training 
for athletic work, because it keeps a man from playing 
his best in the game. 

Then the third season of football came. At last 
Jack made the team. Can’t you guess how happy he 
was? He was really one of the best players on the 
eleven. Of course Ted was captain, but everybody 
knew that the success of the team was due almost as 
much to Jack as to Ted. 

Ted worked hard for the good of the team, but all 
the boys could see that he did not play as well as 
formerly. In spite of this they elected him again as 
captain. It seemed only fair to make him captain for 
his last year in school after he had played on the team 
all through high school and had been its captain for 
a year. 

In that last year the crash came. Ted had become 


THE HEALTH GAME 


9 


more and more careless about his health. He smoked 
a great deal. His appetite was so poor that he did 
not eat the food his body needed. He was always 
having indigestion. He thought it was smart to be 
out every evening with some rough fellows. He never 
had enough sleep and was all the time threatened with 
failure in his lessons. 

During the football season he tried to take good 
care of himself, but in spite of that he could not play 
well. He was nervous and disagreeable. Anyone 
could see that he was a different boy. After the first 
few minutes of a game, he would get all out of breath 
and have to be taken out. He found, too, that it was 
not so easy to shake off his old habits. Every boy on 
the team soon knew that their captain was not keeping 
the rules of training which the coach demanded. Ted’s 
years of bad habits brought their punishment at last. 
After the third game he lost his place on the team for 
breaking training. 

Who should become captain in his place but Jack! 
For many years he had taken the best care of his 
health, and now he had a body of which he could be 
proud. His muscles were tight and hard; he did not 
get out of breath easily. No matter how fast and 
wild the game, he never lost his nerve. With such a 
captain, every fellow on the team was honor bound to 
do his best. They won every game in the last half of 
the season. 

Many years have passed since then. Jack is a sue- 


10 


HEALTH 



cessful business man with two boys of his own. Ted 
started out in a business house, too, but it seemed that 
he never had the health and energy to push himself 
ahead. Whenever I think of these two boys, it makes 
me realize how easy it is to spoil a splendid body by 
not taking good care of it. It is quite possible, also, 
to build a strong, athletic body from a frail one, if a 
boy is willing to pay the price. 

Among the boys you know there are some like Ted 
and others like Jack. I wonder which one you are like. 
Are you going to high school or to work with the 





THE HEALTH GAME 


11 


strong, well-trained body of an athlete? Or are you 
going with a frail body that cannot do the things you 
long to do, just because you did not train and build 
that body when you had the chance ? 

Perhaps you have never thought much about the 
importance of taking good care of your health. Per¬ 
haps you have never thought much about health, any¬ 
how, except when you were sick. Of course you 
have always known that some people are strong and 
healthy and others are not. Do you think health is 
just an accident? 

Baseball players, football men, and all other ath¬ 
letes must be topnotch in health. Surely everybody 
who wants to be useful and happy should be equally 
careful to keep in the best condition. For this reason 
they, too, are in training, and must follow important 
rules for healthful living. Training is something more 
than merely avoiding alcohol and other harmful sub¬ 
stances —it means keeping every health rule. 

Would you like to know the way in which men have 
made themselves alert, strong, manly, and always 
ready for a difficult task? Would you like to know 
the secret by which some women keep well and beau¬ 
tiful? If so, you will like to study Health. We' are 
going to find out what soldiers and ball players and 
other people do to keep fit. We are going to find out 
also what you yourself can do to build a strong body 
of which you will be proud, and to become a well and 
cheerful person with a likable disposition. 


12 


HEALTH 


Here is another reason why you will like to learn 
the rules of ‘health and play the Health Game. Every¬ 
body can succeed at it. Hundreds of boys and girls 
and men and women have shown that they can im¬ 
prove their bodies if they pay attention to it. 

Even if one’s body is not very strong there is no 
reason to be discouraged. Charles Darwin, one 
of the greatest scientists of the world, was never 
strong enough to work more than a few hours a day. 
Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote “Treasure 
Island” and many other delightful books, never be¬ 
came very robust. Yet he was always cheerful and 
gave a great deal of pleasure to other people with his 
stories and poems. That is, of course, the most im¬ 
portant thing—to make people around us happy and 
to do things worth while. Sometimes boys and girls 
who are not strong learn to take such good care of 
themselves that they live longer and do more for the 
world than others who began with the best of health. 

Health is more than learning something out of a 
book. It is chiefly doing. Of course it is not always 
easy to live up to health habits, but who is afraid of a 
little hard work for something so worth while ? 

Questions to Answer 

1. Why does every one desire health? 

2. What habits help a school athlete? 

3. What is to be learned from the story of Jack and Ted? 

4. What do we learn from the lives of Darwin and Steven¬ 
son? 


Ill 


GROWTH IS A SIGN OF HEALTH. 

ARE YOU GROWING? 

Did you ever have a garden? What fun it is to 
watch the plants grow! If they grow fast, you think 
it is a pretty good garden. If some of them do not 
grow as fast as they should, you try to find out why. 
The farmer judges the success of his crops by the 
way they are growing. If they stop growing, he tries 
to find out what is wrong. Growth is natural and 
you have a right to expect it. 

An animal's health, also, is shown in growth. 
Stock raisers watch the growth rate of their colts 
and calves. You watch your pets grow, too. Every 
mother watches the growth of her baby. She knows 
that a healthy baby grows much faster than a sickly 
one. 

Every boy wants to grow into a strong, husky 
young man. Every girl is just as anxious to grow 
into an attractive, healthy young woman. It is not 
only interesting but perfectly natural to watch your 
own growth. Children do that in two ways—by see¬ 
ing how tall they grow, and how much they gain in 
weight. Do you know your height and weight ? Are 
you weighed and measured regularly so you can see 
how fast you are growing? 

Many schools have scales of their own so that all 
13 


14 


HEALTH 



the children can be weighed every month. They are 
measured twice a year—in September and in January 
or February. If you are not being weighed and meas¬ 
ured at school, can’t you find a way to do it? The 
greatest fun of all in playing the Health Game is get¬ 
ting weighed and seeing how fast you grow. 

You would not enjoy putting money in a bank if 
you did not know how much you put in, would you ? 
We might make believe there is a health bank where 
people store up energy instead of money. Gaining 
weight is putting money in the “health bank.” Health 










ARE YOU GROWING? 


15 



banking is much more fun if you get weighed every 
month; then you find out just how much you have 
put in. You can have a class weight record on the 
wall. Perhaps you can have weight cards to carry 
home each month just as you do your report cards. 

From your weighing and measuring you can find 
out also whether you are up to the average weight for 
your height and age. The tables in the back of this 
book tell you what is average weight. When you 
know how tall you are, perhaps your teacher will help 

























HEALTH 


16 

you to find out where you stand in relation to the aver¬ 
age. You may be able to do it yourself. 

Do you want to know whether you weigh as much 
as the average boy or girl of your height and age ? It 
is difficult for some children to be up to average weight 
because they are naturally slender. Other children are 
naturally stocky and are above average weight. Al¬ 
most every one varies from the average. Very few 
children are exactly average weight. There is noth¬ 
ing to worry about even if you are a little below the 
average if you are gaining regularly each month. If 
one is unusually thin, he should take special care to do 
those things which will help him to gain weight. 

One of the reasons for being underweight is a short¬ 
age of muscle and fat. Is there any one in the class 
who has better muscles than your own ? How do you 
know? Some children have stronger muscles than 
others, because they use their muscles more and have 
in their diet more of the food substances that build 
muscle. If you are underweight, do you suppose 
it is because you have not enough weight in your 
muscles? Are they hard and strong? Or are they 
small, flabby, and weak? What can you do about it? 

The first place where the body stores fat is on the 
inside. When hunters kill wild animals in the woods, 
they find that even the leanest ones have a storage of 
fat within the body. So when you begin to store up 
fat, it does not show on the outside, but it does show 
in your weight. 


ARE YOU GROWING? 


17 


Fat is also stored in a thin layer under the skin. 
That helps, to keep you warm. You know that thin 
people usually get chilled much more quickly than 
others. The little padding of fat under the skin makes 
you look better, too. It is surprising how much a very 
thin girl improves in looks when she adds a few extra 
pounds of weight. Moreover, fat is stored food which 
the body can dissolve and use when it is needed. 

You should understand now why it is important to 
be somewhere near the average weight for your height. 
If you are very much underweight, you are quite sure 
to be short of muscle and lacking in fat. That means 
that you are not so strong as you ought to be, and 
that you do not have the little “fat account” which 
makes the body so much more comfortable and gives 
you something to draw upon in time of need. 

Perhaps you are wondering if there is ever such a 
thing as being too much overweight. It is usually 
thought that if a child is more than one-fifth above 
the average weight for children of his height and 
age, he is too heavy. For example, suppose the average 
“weight for your height and age is 80 pounds. One- 
fifth of 80 pounds is 16 pounds. If you are more than 
16 pounds above 8o pounds, you may be too much over¬ 
weight. That is, a child who weighs 96 pounds or 
more when the average weight is 80 pounds is usually 
considered to be overweight. 

You do not need to worry unless you are very much 
overweight, but perhaps you would be more happy and 


HEALTH 


18 

comfortable if you did not weigh so much. \ ou 
should not try to reduce your weight, however, utiless 
you do so under the direction of some one who under¬ 
stands what foods you need to keep you well and what 
kinds of exercise are safe for you. The best way to 
lower your weight is under the direction of a doctor 
or a hospital clinic. 

A while ago we said that you would like to study 
Health because every one can play the Health Game 
and win. Do you remember the story from “Alice in 
Wonderland,” where the tortoise and the other ani¬ 
mals had a race? “When do we start?” they asked. 
“Any time!” was the answer. “How far do we run?” 

























ARE YOU GROWING? 


19 


“As far as you like!” “Who wins?” “Oh, we all 
win!” Your race is like that! You begin any time, 
go as far as you can, and you each win! 

Your test in Health comes on weighing day. Your 
weight card shows your score. When you improve 
your habits of living, it is sure to show in your weight 
sooner or later. Perhaps it will not show immediately. 
So do not be discouraged if you do not gain at once 
even though you have been trying very hard. You 
have succeeded when you have improved your habits, 
and you may be sure that soon your weight card will 
show a good score. 

Look at the tables in the back of the book and see 
' what is the average gain per month for boys and girls 
of your age. Children who live where there are cold 
winters usually gain most in the fall and early winter 
months. They do not gain quite so rapidly through 
the spring and early summer. 

Farm animals are often thin in summer, but they fat¬ 
ten in winter when they are kept inside. Probably they 
are thin in summer partly because of a change of food 
and partly because they run their flesh off. It is 
possible, however, to fatten an animal at any time if you 
can keep up its appetite and limit its exercise. 

Boys and girls are not interested in fattening, but 
in growing. They want to grow tall as well as to gain 
weight. Watching your growth is one way of watch : 
ing your health, for it is just as natural for a husky 
child to grow rapidly as it is for a sturdy animal. 


20 


HEALTH 


There are many reasons why children sometimes do 
not grow as fast as they should. Perhaps, like Roose¬ 
velt, they had a poor start and must make a long, hard 
effort to catch up to the average. Some children do 
not grow as they should because they never get 
enough sleep in the fresh air. Others do not eat enough 
of the right kinds of foods. Still others do too many 
things in addition to school work and never have enough 
time for rest and play. Boys sometimes injure their 
growth by the use of tobacco. 

If you have not made average growth—that is, if 
you are not near the average weight for your height 
and age—what can you do about it ? If you are nearly 
up to the average, how can you stay there or do even 
better? In both cases the answer is the same—play 
the Health Game. 

Let us speed up our growth. Play the Game hard. 
Make every day a Health Day and every boy and girl 
First Class in Health. 


Questions to Answer 

1 . Why is gaining weight each month a sign of health? 

2 . How tall are you, how much do you weigh, and how 
much do you expect to gain this year ? 

3 . How much have you gained during the past year ? 

4 . Are your muscles large, hard, and strong? How can 
you make them so and keep them so ? 

5 . Where is fat found in the body? 

6 . Why can every one play the health game and win ? 


ARE YOU GROWING? 
Things to Do 


21 


1 . Make plans and preparations for a weighing day once 
each month, and for a measuring day at weighing time 
in September and January. 

2 . Keep a classroom weight record. On this record, show 
the weights of children in your class each month. Keep 
the record where it can be seen. 



IV 

WHAT HABITS MAKE YOU GROW? 


Not long ago some college women of the Middle 
West chose from their number the “most beautiful 
college girl.” The girl selected was not only beauti¬ 
ful, but strong and vigorous in body and clever in 
mind. She was a splendid athlete, led her class in 
studies for the year, and was popular in college 
affairs. 

Read what she said in a letter to some school girls 
in Malden, Massachusetts. These girls were about 
your age and were playing the Health Game. 

“When I was twelve years old, no one—not my best friend 
—would have said I was beautiful, I am sure. I was thin and 
colorless. But, fortunately, I had an intelligent mother who 
saw to it that I had plenty of eggs and milk and vegetables and 
fruit to eat and that I acquired the best ideals of cleanliness and 
exercise. By the time I was fourteen these efforts were be¬ 
ginning to show results in a more attractive, healthy body and 
lots of energy. 

“I know it is hard at first to remember always to do this 
or that, even though you are sure it is going to contribute to 
making you attractive, but every time you do remember makes 
the next time much easier. 

“Go to it! Remember you all have the opportunity to de¬ 
velop into splendidly healthy, attractive girls. I wish you the 
best of luck!” 

Here is an example of the importance of right living 

habits in developing health and beauty. Can some of 

22 


WHAT HABITS MAKE YOU GROW? 


23 



you boys suggest ways in which right living helps to 
develop good athletes? 

Perhaps you have read in the papers that when 
young men come away from the army camps after 
only a month’s training in summer, they are much im¬ 
proved in health. They have gained in weight, their 
posture is better, and many physical defects have 
been partly or wholly corrected. The reason is just 
that their daily program has been a health-building 
program, under the care of men who understand the 
body, how it works, and how to make the most of it. 


24 


HEALTH 


Right habits every day are important in keeping 
grown-up people in the best physical condition. How 
much more important they are for boys and girls who 
want, not only to keep fit, but also to grow! 

Here are “The Rules of the Game” as issued by the 
American Child Health Association: 

1. A full bath oftener than once a week. 

2. Brushing the teeth at least twice every day. 

3. Sleeping long hours with windows open. 

4. Drinking as much milk as possible, but no coffee or tea. 

5. Eating some vegetables every day. 

6. Drinking at least four glasses of water a day. 

7. Playing part of every day out of doors. 

8. A bowel movement every morning. 

These eight rules are important, but as you con¬ 
tinue the study of health you will doubtless make many 
others. Moreover, you can find many interesting 
things to do which help you to remember the rules 
and which make half the fun of playing the Game. 
How would you like to make some posters illustrating 
these Rules? 

You may find it is easier to keep the rules if you 
make a record of your habits every day. If you have 
not made a book for records, you can rule a piece of 
drawing paper or composition paper. Plan for room 
to write down every day what fruit you eat, what time 
you go to bed, how much water you drink, or any other 
health habits. It is surprising how much more likely 
you are to remember a habit if you know you are going 


WHAT HABITS MAKE YOU GROW? 25 

to keep a record. Sometimes it is surprising to see from 
your record what a poor game you are playing. 

Of course health records in themselves are not very 
important. The place where good habits will really 
show is in your growth and your general health. 
Writing them on paper merely helps you to practice 
them more successfully. It also give your classmates 
and teacher a chance to look over your record and sug¬ 
gest what habits need to be improved. You will not 
want to try all the projects suggested above, but you 
may like to try some of them. 

It is not necessary that the football player should 
know why he must follow certain rules, but he is much 
more likely to follow the rules well if he does under¬ 
stand them. It is not necessary that the boy who plays 
the Health Game should know all the reasons why he 
must follow certain rules; but, like the football player, 
he is much more likely to play a good game if he does 
understand why. 

Wouldn’t you like to know why it is that you need 
to drink so much water every day? What are the 
harmful effects of tea and coffee that are so much 
talked about? Why does being cheerful help us to be 
healthy ? Why is the right amount of sleep so impor¬ 
tant ? Why does the use of alcohol and tobacco hinder 
you in building a strong body? How could eating 
sweets between meals make you thin? Aren’t there 
a lot of things that you would like to have explained 
right now ? 


26 


HEALTH 


That is what we want to do for you in health les¬ 
sons. We want to talk things over with you and 
explain the reasons for the health rules you have al¬ 
ready learned to keep. We shall give you some idea 
of what that marvelous body of yours is like and how 
it works. We will try to answer that question “Why ?” 
But please do not wait to practice the rules of health 
until you find out all the reasons. 

Questions to Answer 

1. If you have gained or lost during the month, can you 
tell what habits may have been the cause of it? 

2. Can you name the eight habits which are called the 
Rules of the Health Game? 

Things to Do 

1. Organize your class into divisions or teams, appoint 
captains, and have a morning inspection for cleanliness 
every day. Let the class decide what items of cleanli- 
less are to be checked. A team with a perfect record 
gets a score of one. Keep your score records on the 
blackboard. Change captains often. 

2. Start a health scrapbook in which you can illustrate 
your health lessons. Each pupil may make a scrapbook of 
his own, or one book may be made by the class as a whole. 

3. Make posters illustrating the Rules of the Game. Have 
all the rules represented. 

4. Keep a daily record for two weeks of one or two health 
habits which you may select, such as how many glasses 
of milk you drink, how many glasses of water, what fruit 
or vegetables you eat during the day, and what time you 
go to bed at night. See if you can improve your record. 


V 


A LIVING SHIP 

Have you ever seen a steamship? Wouldn’t it be 
interesting to spend a day on a big ship? What fun it 
would be to go over the boat! We would see all its 
rooms, the method of steering the ship, the big engines 
which make it go, the manner of feeding the engines 
with fuel and keeping them in order, the captain’s" 
quarters and the rooms where the people on the boat 
live. We could see how the captain’s orders are car¬ 
ried out, and how the great ship proceeds busily and 
cheerfully on its task of making people happy and 
bringing to us the things we need from all parts of the 
world. 

We may think of the body as being like a beautiful 
ship. Surely we must give as good care to our bodies 
as the captain gives to his boat. A ship with a captain 
who did not know how to run it would be very likely 
to get into trouble. It could not be very useful, and 
might even be wrecked. 

Of course the captain might have very careful rules 
for running the ship. But unless he understood what 
his ship was like and how the various parts worked, 
would you feel safe in setting out on a long voyage 
with him? 

You have been given rules for running your living 
ship, but if you are going to make a long safe voyage, 

27 


HEALTH 


28 

would you not like to know something of what your 
ship is like and how its many parts work? Your 
body, like the ship, has a great many different parts, 
each suited to its own particular work. Let us begin 
by finding out the most important parts of the body. 

Perhaps some of you have seen the building of a 
wooden ship. First the workmen lay the keel, which 
is a heavy planking that runs along the bottom. The 
heavy timbers which form the frame of the ship are 
’attached to the keel. 

Look at the pictures and see how much the frame¬ 
work of the body is like the framework of the boat. 
When you lie on your back, your backbone and ribs 
are in the same position as the framework of the ship. 

The bony framework of your body is called the 
skeleton. It includes not only the bones of the body 
proper, but also those of the head and the arms and 
legs. Your bones are still growing. Are you build¬ 
ing the sort of framework you want for the rest of 
your life? 

Away down inside the ship is the firebox. There 
are the fires which make the steam to move the ship. 
Your body has a firebox, too, and you like to kindle 
the fires at least three times a day. Your firebox 
is called the stomach. What do you use for fuel? 
Some kinds of fuel are better than others for a ship. 
Do you not suppose some kinds of foods are better 
than others for boys and girls ? 

When the ship is completed there are parts which 


A LIVING SHIP 


29 



make it go. They are the large shafts which move 
and turn the propeller much as the driving bar turns 
the wheels of a railroad engine. In the body there 
are muscles which pull on different parts of the skele¬ 
ton and make it move. 























30 


HEALTH 


Put one hand on the big muscle of the other arm. 
If you double up the arm you can feel the muscle work¬ 
ing. If you put your hand on the elbow and move the 
arm up and down you can feel the movement of the 
bones. When you double up your arm, are you proud 
of your muscle? 

Every movement of your body is due to. the con¬ 
traction or shortening of some muscle, or of several 
muscles acting together. When you think of how 
many different things you can do with your body, you 
realize how many different muscles you must have. 
See how many movements you can make with your 
hand. Move each finger separately, if you can. You 
learn to do different things with your hands by 
training your muscles. 

Then there is the part of the ship from which every¬ 
thing is managed. In front is the pilot house. 
Through the windows the pilot looks ahead as he 
steers the ship. Your body, too, has a pilot house. 
What are the windows called ? 

From a place near by the captain directs every 
movement of the ship. This is done by an elaborate 
set of signal wires or a real telephone system which 
runs to every part of the boat. The captain’s place 
in the human ship is the brain. Your brain is in a 
neat little box of bone, called the skull. From the 
brain, nerves run to all parts of the body. 

Some of these nerves are quite large as they leave 
the brain. If you could cut one in two and examine 


A LIVING SHIP 


31 


the end of it with a microscope, you would find that it 
is very much like a cable of wires which leaves a cen¬ 
tral telephone office. That is, there are a great many 
“wires” inside this large tube, and each “wire” is care¬ 
fully separated from the one next to it. The nerves 
and the brain make up the nervous system. Over the 
nerves are sent messages from the brain to all part's 
of the body, or from all parts of the body to the brain. 

The paint on the outside of the ship is like the skin 
of the body. What is the paint for ? Some of you 
will say it is to make the boat look well, and some will 
say it is to keep the wood from rotting. Both are 
right. The paint is for both protection and beauty. 
The skin serves the same purposes for the body. It 
protects the parts underneath from injury, and if the 
body is in good health the skin will be clear and beau¬ 
tiful. 

The best ships are kept very clean, inside and out. 
The decks are scrubbed, the different parts of the boat 
are washed, and the outside is regularly cleaned. You 
already know many rules for the cleanliness of your 
own body. Do you practice them? One thing which 
people never forgive is a lack of personal cleanliness. 
Being dirty may not always make you sick, but it cer¬ 
tainly makes you disliked by other people. The clean 
boy or girl stands a much better chance of succeeding. 
The clean boy or girl stands a much better chance of 
making friends. 

Finally the ship goes to work. How proudly she 


32 


HEALTH 



sails the seas! Her decks are firm and level. She is 
not warped or tipped. You like to watch her as she 
cuts her way through the blue water—so clean, 
straight, sturdy, well built, a thing almost alive. I 
wonder if you ever think of the way you carry your 
body, and the way you stand and sit. Are people who 
see you pleased with the way you carry your human 
ship? 

Every ship has some useful work in the world. 
Perhaps she carries people from one port to another, 
—people who are traveling on important business, or 
people who are traveling for pleasure. Perhaps she 
carries important cargoes of supplies from far-away 
places,—leather for shoes, wool for warm clothes, or 
good things for boys and girls to eat. All parts of the 
ship must be running smoothly and doing their work 










A LIVING SHIP 


33 


well if the ship is to find her greatest usefulness in the 
world. 

Did you ever hear Kipling’s story of “The Ship that 
Found Herself”? This beautiful ship was on her first 
voyage. One might have thought that every part 
would rejoice in its work—that it would be happy and 
proud to belong to such a stately craft. Not at all. 
Each part was jealous of some other. Each feared 
that it was being imposed upon in carrying more than 
its own share of the work. Near the end of the 
voyage a great storm came up. The ship was tossed 
about wildly. The great planks creaked, the masts 
shivered, and the bolts and rivets were hard put to 
hold tightly in their places. But the storm passed by. 
As the noise and confusion died away, the grumbling 
and complaining also ceased. In its place -was the 
harmonious song of all the parts working together. 
The good ship had found herself. 

I like to think of this story in connection with the 
human body. All parts of the body must work to¬ 
gether and be well cared for if a boy or girl is to have 
a happy, healthy, and useful life. Every boy and girl 
must do his part without fussing or complaining if 
your class is to be a happy, healthy, and useful class. 

In the rest of our health lessons we are going to 
learn more about the parts of the body. If you are 
very anxious to learn about some particular part or 
the reasons for some special health habit, you may 
hunt up that chapter and study it before the others. 


HEALTH 


34 

The lessons may bt changed about in any way you like. 
But unless you have some real reason for skipping 
about the book, studying different chapters here and 
there, probably you should take them in order as they 
have been planned. 

Whatever lessons you study next be sure to re¬ 
member that the real test of success in Health is not 
how many health habits you can remember, but how 
many your body has learned to practice. 


Questions to Answer 

1. Who is the captain of your body ship? 

2. By what rules to do you run your ship? 

3. What can you tell about the framework of the body ? 

4. What must you do to keep your body framework straight ? 

5 . Where does the human body get the fuel which makes 
it go? 

6 . What causes the different parts of the body to move? 

7. What part of the body directs the activity of the muscles ? 

8 . What is your pilot house, and what are the windows called ? 

9. To what does the brain correspond? 

10. What are nerves ? 

11. How do the nerves help your captain to command your 
ship ? 

12. What is the use of the skin? 

13. Why is it important to keep the skin clean? 

Things to Do 

1. Make a list of the parts of the ship and write opposite 
them the parts of the body which correspond. 

2. Find pictures for your scrapbook to illustrate these things. 


VI 

DOES YOUR SHIP NEED REPAIRS? 

A wise captain would not put to sea on a long 
voyage without having his ship inspected to see what 
parts need repairs. Of course he doesn’t depend on 
himself to make the inspection. He understands a 
g*ood deal about his ship, to be sure, but when it is a 
matter of a thorough examination, he calls in a man 
who knows more than he does about the way in which 
ships are built and repaired. 

This man goes all over the boat. Then he in turn 
may call in special experts to examine different parts. 
If he thinks the engines or boilers are not quite safe, 
he calls an engineer. If he is not sure of the ship’s 
radio outfit, he calls a radio expert to see that it is all 
right. The captain himself may call several different 
experts in the first place, and have each one examine 
his special part of the ship. 

It is just as important for you to have your living 
ship inspected at regular times to see if everything is 
all right. The general inspection may be made by the 
school doctor, the nurse, or the teacher. Perhaps they 
will find that your ship does not need a repair, and 
that you appear to be in first-class condition. If the 
examination shows that your body does need repair, 
they will advise you to go to your own family doctor 
for further examination. 


35 


36 


HEALTH 



It would be useless for a captain to have his ship 
inspected if the necessary repairs were never made. 
He knows that it is best to make repairs as soon as 
they are needed. It saves time for the ship owners, 
because trips can be made more quickly. It saves 
money, because the sooner repairs are made, the less 
they cost. It means greater safety, too. In time of 
storm or danger, a ship with every part working well 
has a better chance of coming safely into port. 






















































DOES YOUR SHIP NEED REPAIRS? 37 

For you, as well as for the ship, it is best to have 
repairs made as soon as they are needed. Think how 
much time and money is saved by the boy who goes to 
the dentist to have his teeth repaired twice a year. 
Usually there is only an hour or two of work to be 
done. It is not painful, and it does not cost much. 
But there is a still more important saving. The boy 
who goes regularly saves his teeth, whereas the one 
who waits is in danger of losing some because he did 
not take care of them in time. 

Things which are wrong in the body, such as bad 
teeth, poor eyes, diseased tonsils and adenoids, deaf¬ 
ness, deformed backs, and poor posture, are called 
physical defects. A defect is something that is wrong, 
and a physical defect is something wrong in the body. 
Sometimes the body has defects that cannot be cor¬ 
rected. Of course it is impossible to put new parts 
into the body as new parts are put into a ship. Any 
body, however, will give better service if it has good 
care and is kept in as good repair as possible. 

Even if you have some defect which cannot be 
wholly corrected, it is no cause for worry or sadness. 
You may have known somebody who had a real de¬ 
formity, but was so bright in mind and sweet in spirit 
that he was loved by every one. He was not loved less 
because of the deformity. 

Do you remember the story of “The Christmas 
Carol” by Dickens? Tiny Tim, who was the favorite 
of the family, was loved by every one. Can’t you 


HEALTH 


38 

imagine how bravely he hurried about on his little 
crutches, and how his eyes shone when he said on 
Christmas morning, “God bless us, every one!” 

Perhaps you have read “The Birds’ Christmas 
Carol,” too, and can remember how the life of the 
whole family centered about poor little Carol, who was 
lame and ill. She was so bright and cheerful that no 
one liked her less because her body was weak and 
lame. 

If you want to be courteous and kind to any person 
who has a deformity, you will never let him think you 
notice it. Try to be very kind to the people who have 
defective bodies, and very patient with your own de¬ 
fects if they cannot be made right. Nothing needs 
to be a handicap to you unless you let it. There are 
men and women famous in history who made their 
way in spite of serious physical defects. Do you 
know some of them? 

This does not mean that physical defects ought to 
be neglected if they can be corrected or improved. 
Teeth can be filled and cleaned, eyes can be fitted with 
glasses or treated in other ways, diseased tonsils and 
adenoids can be removed. 

There is a great difference between being careful 
and patient with defects that cannot be corrected, and 
neglecting those that can be. The captain who has a 
propeller partly broken at sea knows that it cannot be 
repaired until the ship is in port, and wisely remem¬ 
bers the broken propeller in governing his ship. But 


DOES YOUR SHIP NEED REPAIRS? 39 

if he should put out to sea again without having it 
repaired, you would not think him a wise captain. 

Sometimes great disaster comes because of neg¬ 
lecting these little things. There is an old saying 
which goes like this: “For want of a nail the shoe 
was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for 
want of a horse the rider was lost; for want of a 
rider, the battle was lost; for the want of a battle, the 
Kingdom was lost; and all for the want of a horse¬ 
shoe nail!” 

The same sort of story might be written about 
physical defects. Sometimes boys and girls think it 
isn't very important to have glasses fitted when their 
eyes are bad. The boy with bad tonsils thinks it does 
not matter whether he has them out or not. And for 
want of these things, the Health Game is lost! He 
who plays to win must give himself a fair start by 
getting repaired. 

Ships are not only repaired when the captain knows 
something is seriously wrong, but they come into port 
at regular periods to be overhauled. Your ship, too, 
should be examined regularly. Many people go to a 
doctor once or twice a year for a thorough examina¬ 
tion. What advantages are there in doing that ? Do 
you have a regular examination? 

In schools far out in the country, it is often rather 
hard to give children the examination which is pro¬ 
vided in city schools. It is just as important for them 
to have it. It is always possible to go with your own 


HEALTH 


40 


(pYA fo ,9 lj>j> dC/hf / i. 

/£ (Q, nXi. < 1]2jUOuM 



QjJJ LTTaXLI^ cu xnvJ^a JfellLitL 
x, cx^ ,5 (7 U7~l /- S-MX'itj. 



D. 


JbciTv 


Xou aJx,^u/y-\ui / 

TTW 


TTU^ Xlsl sojlcL 

tJ"VoJ0 JC>OuJLcL USxi&L AjOU- CL 'uttfe-n^ to- 

cLo-lj GiM-cL l/nXr\J5LLjouL to u\Al!o Ooru 


.SlKjOCtC A^.\AAilJ0Jl>LOTL, 

These specimens of penmanship show how a girl’s handwriting im¬ 
proved after she had her vision corrected. The first two lines 
were written before she had glasses. The second two were written 
by the same girl the next day, and the improvement was wholly 
due to the fact that between, the times of writing she had put on 
glasses which corrected her vision. The last specimen is the first 
sentence of a letter written by the same girl three months later. 
This girl was a pupil in the schools of Lowell, Massachusetts. 


parents to your family doctor, and have him see if 
you are in good physical condition. 

Children look better, feel better, and do better work 
when their defects are corrected. Look at the illus¬ 
tration and see how fast a girl's penmanship improved 
after she secured glasses. Can you see from the 
weight chart how Helen's growth increased after her 
tonsils were removed? 










41 


DOES AoUR SHIP NEED REPAIRS? 



jan. Feb. Mar. Apr May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. 


Defects like bad tonsils, bad teeth, and poor eyesight 
nearly always hinder growth. A child who has one 
of these defects is not having a fair chance to grow 
as fast as other boys and girls. If some defect is 
keeping you from making average growth, can’t you 
find a way to have it corrected ? 

We need to go to the doctor, not only for a regular 
examination, but for illnesses which we do not under¬ 
stand and which may become more serious. A per- 




























42 


HEALTH 


sistent cold or cough, a sick stomach that does not get 
well right away, and other similar things ought to take 
us to our good friend, the doctor. For he is a friend, 
and we are not fair to him if we wait until an illness 
is very serious and then find fault with him if he can¬ 
not cure us quickly. In cases of accident, too, it is a 
safe rule to call the doctor. A bad cut or wound is 
likely to need help from some one who knows more 
about repairing your body than you do. 

Do you know that the President of the United 
States has a private physician to keep him well? It 
is so important for the President to be in good health 
that he must have a skilled advisor who carefully 
watches his condition. There are so many burdens on 
the shoulders of the man who is at the head of our 
nation that he cannot afford to be sick. 

We cannot have private physicians, and we do not 
need them. But we do need to go to the doctor and 
dentist regularly for examination, and follow their 
advice in having our bodies repaired. See what you 
can do as a class in getting every pupil to have an in¬ 
spection and secure the repairs which will fit his ship 
for the voyage ahead. How long will it be before you 
can record your class as one hundred per cent physi¬ 
cally fit? 

Questions to Answer 

1. When did you have your ship inspected last ? 

2. What repairs were found to be needed? 

3. Have you had these repairs made? 


DOES YOUR SHIP NEED REPAIRS? 43 

4. Tell why we need to keep our body ships in as good 
repair as possible. 

5. Why would you rather be well than ill? 

6. What can your friend, the doctor, do to help you keep 
well? 

7. Why do persons who have important work to do take 
good care of their health? 

Things to Do 

1. If some child has seen a ship, or a boiler room where big 
engines are running, let him tell the class about it. 

2. Bring to the class pictures of ships being repaired. 

3. Dramatize a visit to the doctor for physical examination. 

4. Tell a story of some one whom you know who saved time 
or money or both by having repairs made to his body 
ship as soon as they were needed. 

5. Add a page to your scrapbook with pictures to show a 
visit to the dentist or to a doctor for the correction of 
some physical defect. 

6. Start a class record of physical defects in a small space 
on the blackboard. Write the number of children who 
have no defects. Write the number who need glasses, 
the number who need to go to the dentist, and the number 
who have tonsils that need attention. Change the num¬ 
bers as fast as the defects are corrected. 


VII 


GROWTH AND REPAIR MATERIAL 

What are the things which are needed to keep a 
ship going? There must be wood for repairs, coal for 
fuel, oil to make the engines run smoothly, and iron 
to use in strengthening parts of the ship. These four 
things are necessary if the boat is to be kept in good 
condition, so they are taken on board at regular 
periods. 

What are the things which keep your human ship 
going? You, too, need material for repairs, fuel to 
make you go, regulating material to keep everything 
running smoothly, and iron and mineral substances to 
strengthen certain parts of the body. All of these 
materials are found in food. 

You may have thought that food was just food, 
and that one kind was about as good as another. That 
is not so at all. Different foods serve different pur¬ 
poses in the body just as different materials serve dif¬ 
ferent purposes in the ship. Wood, of course, is used 
for building the ship. It is also used for rebuilding 
the parts which wear out. Certain kinds of food do 
this for the body. 

Perhaps you think that your body does not need 
repair, because the repairing is done without your 
knowing or thinking anything about it. But every 

44 


GROWTH AND REPAIR MATERIAL 45 

day some parts of your body are being mended and 
strengthened. Nature delights in doing this, and the 
more the body is used in the right way, the stronger 
it becomes. After you have been sick, it takes quite 
a while for everything to get repaired again; that is, 
for you to get well. When you have a cut or a bad 
hurt, you take good care of the injury, so it may be 
healed as rapidly as possible. 

The same food substance which builds the body is 
also used to repair it, so we may call this substance 
Growth and Repair Material. It is also called protein. 
Growth and Repair Material, or protein, is pot found 
pure in any food, but men in chemical laboratories 
have found out for us what foods contain it. 

Your body is still being built, and parts are wearing 
out with use in the meantime, so you need food to 
build your body and to make repairs as well. That 
is why you need more of the Growth and Repair foods 
than grown-ups. One must have enough of these 
foods to build a strong body, just as one must have 
enough of the necessary material in order to build a 
ship or a house. 

Milk is the first food on this list. It is the very best 
food in the world for growth, because it contains not 
only Growth and Repair Material, but also other food 
substances which the body needs. It is Nature’s per¬ 
fect food. 

Here is a story about milk which may interest you. 
Try telling it to little brother or sister at home! Do 


46 


HEALTH 


you think the story illustrates a good reason for drink¬ 
ing milk ? 

“One day when we were in the country we saw 
right on the ground a brown and white ball. As soon 
as we children came near, it commenced to get up, and 
it got up and up and up, and we thought it never would 
stop. Its legs were long and its body thin and on 
one end hung its head. We thought the calf—for that 
is what it was—couldn’t know very much because her 
head seemed too little to guide those four long legs. 
But she did know something because she went right 
over to her mother to get some M-I-L-K. And what 
do you think? Every time we went out to see her 
she was going to her mother to get some M-I-L-K. 

“One day she said, ‘I want to go out in the meadow 
with my mother to eat some grass.’ The next morn¬ 
ing her mother took her to the meadow. When she 
put her head down to take a bite, the sun shone down 
on the grass and the wind blew it until it tickled her 
ear. Then the grass whispered to her and said, T’m 
getting something for you.’ And every morning when 
she went out into the meadow and the sun was on the 
grass and the wind blew, the calf put her head down 
to take a bite and the grass tickled her ear as it whis¬ 
pered, T’m getting something for you. I’m getting 
something for you.’ 

“One night when the calf was walking home be¬ 
side her mother, she said, 'Why, mother, I’m as big 
as you are! I’d like to give milk to boys and girls to 


GROWTH AND REPAIR MATERIAL 47 

make them grow/ And the very next morning when 
she went to the meadow and put her head down to 
take a bite of grass, the sun shone down on it and the 
wind blew and the grass tickled her ear and whispered, 
‘Give the boys and girls what I’ve given you. Give 
the boys and girls what I’ve given you.’ The calf was 
shy and rooted her nose around the ground trying to 
get up her courage to ask what. At last she took a 
big bite, then put her nose down and asked, ‘What?’ 
and the grass answered, ‘Growth materials and vita¬ 
mins to make boys and girls grow.’ 

“Now, will you drink milk so as to grow as big as 
your father and mother?” 

It makes you grow, because it contains Growth 
Material. It also keeps your body in repair, and helps 
you to get strong after you have been sick, because it 
contains Repair Material. 

Boys on athletic teams in college drink milk regu¬ 
larly. Professional baseball players often drink a 
quart of milk a day. Milk is the very best food for 
boys who look forward to becoming athletes, and for 
girls who want to become attractive young women. 
Drink at least two glasses a day—more than that if 
you can. How much do you drink? 

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a kind of “trade-mark” 
for the foods that make you grow and keep your body 
in repair? Suppose we have two fairies to represent 
this kind of substance. They would be twin fairies, of 
course, for they are just alike. We will call them 


48 


HEALTH 



Growth and Repair. You can make believe they 
“live” in the foods which contain growth and repair 
material. Remember they are always found together, 
and the “home” they like best is Milk. 

Do you know another place where Growth and Re¬ 
pair like to live? You know of course how chickens 















GROWTH AND REPAIR MATERIAL 49 

are hatched from eggs. If an egg can grow a whole 
chicken, don’t you suppose it can make you grow? 
An eggshell must make a nice house for the fairies! 

Do you eat an egg every day? If you have plenty 
of milk and other foods where Growth and Repair 
live, you may not need to do so, but eat one as often 
as you can. It is good to have eggs several times a 
week, at least. There are many different ways in 
which you can cook eggs. Find out which ways are 
best. 

The fairies Growth and Repair also live in every 
food made from milk or eggs. With many people 
cheese is an important food. Too much cheese at one 
time makes work rather hard for the “firebox,” but 
used with a generous amount of other things it is a 
splendid food for children. 

Besides the milk you drink, the eggs you eat, and 
the cheese you use with other foods, you get milk and 
eggs in other ways. Cocoa is made with a great 
amount of milk. Custards are made almost entirely 
of milk and eggs. There are many puddings made 
mostly of milk and eggs, which are better desserts for 
children than cakes and pies. Do you know why ? 

Meat, fish, beans, and peas are among the other 
growth and repair foods. Meat and fish give very 
good building material for the body, but they are 
harder to digest than milk and eggs. It is often said 
that children should eat meat or fish not more than 
once a day. Certainly none of these foods can take 


50 


HEALTH 



the place of milk and eggs for boys and girls who are 
growing. 

One good way to find out whether you have enough 
of growth and repair food is to keep a record of these 
foods for two or three weeks. 

The children most in need of growth and repair 
foods are those who need to grow the most or need to 
repair the most! That means the children who are 
small and thin, the children who are not gaining well 
every month, and the children who have often been 
sick. Perhaps the^e boys and girls can drink four or 
five glasses of milk a day. It is particularly good to 
have milk at recess if the school has milk to sell. It 
is also possible for a child to bring his own. 

Sometimes it is hard to remember the different 
kinds of food and just where each food belongs. 
Some boys and girls like to keep a scrapbook, in which 
















GROWTH AND REPAIR MATERIAL 


51 


they make small health posters to illustrate the health 
work all through the year. How easy it is to re¬ 
member where the Growth and Repair fairies live 
when you have mounted pictures of them on a scrap¬ 
book page, surrounded with pictures of milk, eggs, 
cheese, and perhaps meat and fish. If you are keeping 
a scrapbook, you will find many interesting ways to 
illustrate Growth and Repair Material. 

How much do you suppose you can gain before next 
weighing day if you drink more milk and eat more 
eggs? If you are very thin and find it hard to gain 
weight as rapidly as the other children, try drinking a 
glass of milk with an egg beaten into it. It’s sure to 
mean “money in the Health Bank” when weighing day 
comes! 

Questions to Answer 

1. Name the four kinds of material necessary to keep the 
human ship going. Where are these materials found? 

2. List all the growth and repair foods you know. Do you 
like all these foods and does your daily diet contain a 
variety of them? 

3. What food should be first on the list? Why? 

4. What are the best ways to cook eggs ? 

Things to Do 

1. List all the desserts you can think of that contain growth 
and repair material. 

2. If you live in the country, find out what growth and re¬ 
pair foods are raised in your neighborhood. If you live 
in the city, visit the near-by markets and see what kinds 


52 


HEALTH 


of growth and repair foods you find there and where 
they came from. 

3. Keep a daily record of the growth and repair foods you 
eat. Put milk first on the list. 

4. Tell what you know about how cheese is made and the 
kinds used most in different countries. 

5. Start a set of food posters. Make some posters to show 
foods that contain “growth and repair” material. Hang 
the best ones somewhere in the classroom as the begin¬ 
ning of a food poster exhibit. [It is not expected that 
each child will make a complete poster for each group 
of foods.] 


VIII 


GO MATERIAL 

How does a ship develop the power to run ? By 
burning coal or some other fuel, you say. What gives 
your body the power to go? Certain foods supply the 
body with fuel, or Go Material, just as coal furnishes 
power to the ship. These foods give us the strength 
to run and play and work. 

There are three kinds of Go Material —starches, 
sugars, and fats. You may have seen how completely 
fats, sugar, and starch burn up in the fire. It is not 
hard to understand that they make good fuel for the 
body. 

These food substances are burned up to make 
energy for work or play. When you do not use your 
fuel foods completely, the unused part is stored up as 
fat. The fat of your own body is a fuel reserve and 
when the food you have eaten does not supply enough 
fuel, you burn up some of the fat of the body itself. 
A long distance swimmer lost twenty pounds in swim¬ 
ming for twenty-seven hours across the English 
Channel. Football players often lose three or four 
pounds during a game. Surely boys and girls need a 
lot of Go Material if they are busy working and 
playing all day long! 

One of the very best kinds of Go Material is cereal. 

53 


54 


HEALTH 


Cereals are made from several different kinds of grain 
—wheat, corn, oats, and rye. 

A long time ago people in Scotland grouped them¬ 
selves together in clans. A clan was a group of people 
related to each other and living in the same part of 
the country. Many times one clan would get into a 
quarrel with another. They would even go to war. 

It once happened that a clan in the highlands was 
at war with a clan in the lowlands. The clan in the 
lowlands surrounded the highlanders and tried to 
starve them out during the long winter. In the high¬ 
lands, however, there had been a very good crop of 
oats. These were made into bread and oatmeal which 
formed the chief food for the people. When spring 
came, the highland clan appeared, not starved, but 
husky and strong enough to overcome their enemies. 

A boy who heard this true story from Scotland im¬ 
mediately began to eat oatmeal for breakfast. His 
mother wondered what had happened because she had 
never been able to persuade him to eat cereal of any 
kind. She asked him why he wanted oatmeal, and he 
told her about the Scottish clan. Are you as husky 
and strong as you want to be? If not, try oatmeal! 

See how long a list of cereals you can make. Per¬ 
haps you would like to see which cereal is the favorite 
among the boys and girls in your class. Cooked 
cereals are less expensive than dry cereals and usually 
they contain more Go Material.. 

Bread is another good energy food. Dark breads 


GO MATERIAL 


55 



like graham, whole wheat, corn bread, and brown 
bread are the best. They are made from the whole 
kernel of the grain, while white bread is made from 
the inside only. The outside covering of the kernel 
has a food material which the body needs, so when we 
eat white bread, we are losing a very important part 
of the grain. Another reason why dark breads are 
better is because they are coarse, and the body needs 
a great deal of coarse material to help digestion. 

Macaroni and spaghetti are also starchy foods. 
They are made of wheat flour and are excellent fuel 
foods. 

Many of the vegetables contain Go Material, too, in 
the form of starch. Potatoes have the most. Do you 
like potatoes? Try to eat one every day! There are 
many different ways to cook potatoes. Which ways 
are best? 














56 


HEALTH 


We said that sugars are fuel foods. However, it is 
not at all necessary to eat white sugar or sweets. 
Nature put simple sugars in many of the fruits and 
vegetables and in milk. Moreover, starch is turned 
into sugar by the digestive juices of the body. 

Many years ago, people did not have table sugar or 
candies, and they were probably better off without 
them. Since man has found that he can make a very 
sweet sugar from beets or from sugar cane, he is not 
satisfied with natural sugars. The great trouble with 
sugar and sweet things is that they take away your 
appetite and taste for other foods. As a result the 
body fails to get all the different food substances 
which it needs. For this reason athletes do not eat 
much sugar. Women who have nice complexions 
avoid eating much of sweet foods. 

Eating candy between meals is like filling a coal 
furnace with kindling in the middle of the afternoon. 
Usually the furnace is filled with coal in the morning 
and at night. Suppose some one needlessly throws 
some kindling wood on top of the coal in the after¬ 
noon. The fire burns up briskly for a while, and the 
house is so warm that no one thinks of fixing the fire 
at the regular time. Then the first thing they know, 
the kindling is burned up. The house is cold and un¬ 
comfortable. When you eat candy you spoil your 
appetite for regular meals, and so soon as the candy 
has been used up the body is uncomfortable. 

Fats supply Go Material, too. Indeed fat contains 


GO MATERIAL 


57 


more energy than an equal amount of sugar or starch. 
In cold countries where the body needs a great deal 
of fuel to keep it warm, as well as to keep it going, 
people use a great deal of fat. Have you read about 
such a race of people who live in the far North? In 
hot countries people eat very little fat. 

The best fat for boys and girls is that which comes 
from milk—that is, cream and butter. If you have 
cream on your cereal or pudding, remember that it 
does something more than give your food a good taste. 
It furnishes you with Go Material to keep you warm 
and to give you energy for work and play. We get 
most milk fat in butter, and there is no better fat for' 
growing boys and girls. Nut-butters and margarines 
may taste good, they may be perfectly clean and whole¬ 
some, but they do not benefit the body as much as 
butter made from milk. Olive oil, too, is an excellent 
fat. 

Many people used to believe alcohol to be a good 
energy food. Now we know that it is not a real food 
at all. It burns up quickly, producing much heat and 
energy for a short time, but it acts upon the blood 
vessels so as to cause a great loss of heat immediately 
afterward. It fails to pass the tests of a true food, be¬ 
cause it does not help to strengthen the body. 

If we have a trade-mark for Go Material, surely it 
will be a picture of some one lively, full of fun, full of 
energy, always “on the go.” Can’t you imagine him 
as a Brownie, short and chubby, dressed in a little 


58 


HEALTH 



brown suit, with bells on his cap and his toes? Of 
course his real name is Go Material, but his nickname 
is Pep. 

You will find Pep in many of the foods you eat 
every day. He is hiding in every box of cereal. He 
has tucked himself away somewhere in every loaf of 












GO MATERIAL 


59 


bread. He is sold with every pound of butter and 
every jar of cream. If you look sharply, you may 
imagine him peeping out of the eyes of the potato, or 
running races through a long tube of macaroni! Be 
sure you eat enough of the foods where Pep lives. 
Start the day with a good breakfast of cereal. Then 
have a potato once a day. Eat plenty of dark bread 
and butter at every meal. 

Remember that Go Material which is not used up 
as fuel is stored in the body as fat. Can you see a 
reason why boys and girls who are thin need more 
than other children? How much is needed by those 
who are very much overweight? Perhaps you can 
keep a record for a while of the Go Material you eat 
each day. 

Remember, if you want to grow some every day, 
eat Growth and Repair Material! If you also want 
to go some every day, eat Go Material! 

Questions to Answer 

1. What are the three kinds of “go” material? 

2. How does the body store fuel ? 

3 . When does the body use this stored fuel? Give an 
example. 

4. Why do boys and girls of your age need a lot of “go” 
material ? 

5. Name places where natural sugars are found. 

6 . Why is it better not to eat candy between meals ? 

7. Which produces the more heat when burned, a teaspoon¬ 
ful of fat or a teaspoonful of sugar? 


60 


HEALTH 


8. What time of year do you need the most fat in your diet ? 

9. What are the best fats for boys and girls ? 

10. Why is alcohol not a true food ? 

11. What foods do you eat that have the “Brownie Pep” 
in them ? 

Things to Do 

1. Make a collection of “go” material pictures for your 
scrapbook. 

2. List all the cereals you know, including both the ones 
usually eaten hot and those eaten cold. 

3. List other foods made from grains. 

4. Draw a map and use pins or colored crayon to show in 
what sections of the country different grains are raised. 

5. Make some posters to show foods which contain “go” 
material. Hang the best ones in your classroom with the 
posters of “growth and repair” material. 

6. Keep a record of the “go” materials you eat every day. 
(This may be kept on the same paper with the “growth 
and repair” foods.) 

7. List all the “go” material foods you know under the 
following headings: Starches, Sugars, Fats. 

8. Tell what you know about the diets of people in different 
climates. 


IX 


REGULATORS AND FOOD MAGIC 

What else does the ship need beside material for 
repair and fuel to make it go? Boys know that it 
must have oil to regulate the engines so that every¬ 
thing may run smoothly. The body needs a similar 
thing—foods which will regulate the digestive system. 
These foods we will call Regulators. 

When we study the digestive system later, you will 
see that one of the most important parts is a long tube 
called the intestine. All the food passes through it, 
so it is necessary that the food should move along 
properly, and that the tube should be clean. This is 
what we mean when we talk about being clean inside. 

The inside lining of the intestine is not smooth. It 
is made of little finger-shaped projections, somewhat 
like your own fingers when you lock the fingers of one 
hand through those of the other hand and let them all 
stick out side by side. These little projections are very 
small, of course. With such a lining as this, you can 
understand how food may clog up the intestine some¬ 
times and hinder the work of digestion. 

Water is one of the most important regulators. It 
helps to keep you clean inside as well as outside. The 
body also uses it in growth. It makes up about two 
thirds of the weight of your whole body. Just think, 
61 


62 


HEALTH 


I never have less water 
Than four good drinks 
a day, . 

The first thing in the 
morning, 

At recess and at play. 



if you weigh ninety pounds, at least sixty pounds of 
that is water! Muscle, bone, blood—indeed, every 
part of the body contains a large amount of water. 

You have probably heard of men who have fasted 
for a long time, and lived on water only. You know 
that men lost in the desert can live many days without 
food if the water holds out. But they cannot live 
many days without water. It is more necessary to life 
than food. It has two uses in the body,—to help regu¬ 
late digestion, and to supply the water which is needed 
for every part. 

Get the habit of having a full glass of cold water 
the first thing in the morning after you brush your 
teeth. Give yourself a bath inside every morning! 











REGULATORS AND FOOD MAGIC 


63 



Get the habit of drinking between meals, too. Do you 
always drink from the bubbler at recess? And do you 
get a drink whenever you go into the house from 
school or play? Be sure that you have at least four 
glasses every day. Drink most of that between meals. 

Water is not the only thing to keep you clean inside. 
Starchy foods or bits of meat may get caught along 
that rough lining of the intestine. Then the tube gets 
clogged and you need something like a scrubbing- 
brush to clean it out. There are foods which do this 
for you. 

Did you ever notice the long fibers in celery? Or 
the stringy skin of the rhubarb plant? Or the coarse 
parts in the pulp of the orange or grapefruit? These 
coarse, stringy parts, which are also found in many 
other fruits and vegetables, help to move the food 
along, and regulate digestion by keeping the intestine 








64 


HEALTH 



clean. They, too, are regulators. Eat some of them 
every day! 

Other coarse foods help to regulate digestion, too. 
One reason why dark breads are better than white is 
because they always contain the coarse outside part 















REGULATORS AND FOOD MAGIC 65 

of the grain. This helps all the food to keep moving 
along through the whole digestive tube. 

These foods are like the traffic officer who stands on 
the street corner. A big, strong, good-natured “Po¬ 
liceman” may be the trade-mark for our regulator 
foods. He will always be found in water, fruits, 
vegetables, and coarse bread. 

If you have plenty of the regulator foods every day, 
you will not need to take medicine to regulate the 
digestion. They will keep your digestive tube clean, 
just as Nature meant they should. A boy told the 
story in a poster which had pictures of all kinds of 
fruits and vegetables, under which he wrote, “Eat 
plenty of these, and you won’t need pills!” 

I must tell you also about some magic materials in 
certain foods. They help keep you in good condition, 
and make you grow. These magic substances are 
called vitamins. Nobody ever saw a vitamin, no¬ 
body ever found one. But we do know where they 
are and what they do. Without them, boys and girls 
can neither grow nor be in good health. These vita¬ 
mins are dissolved either in fat or in the water of 
certain foods. 

Milk, cream, butter, and cheese all contain these 
magic substances. They are also found in nearly all 
the fruits and vegetables, particularly in the leafy 
vegetables, like spinach, lettuce, cabbage, celery, and 
other greens. They are found in the coarse outside 
part of the grains, too, and in the yolk of the egg. 


66 


HEALTH 


That is another reason why these foods are so im¬ 
portant. They have the magic substances which make 
you grow and keep you in good health. 

Years ago, in China, there was much sickness 
among the people of a certain part of the country. 
The doctors did not know what caused the sickness, 
but they thought it was probably the food. The people 
were very poor and did not have enough variety in 
their foods. They lived almost entirely on rice—just 
the plain white rice such as you sometimes eat at home. 
This is the inside of the rice kernel from which the 
husk has been removed. 

Doctors fed some birds on this plain white rice. 
The birds got sick just as the people did. After sev¬ 
eral days they began to lose their strength, and were 
unable to keep their balance. Then the doctors made 
a mush of the outside husks of the grain which had 
been taken off before the rice was used. When the 
birds were fed on the mush, they quickly began to get 
better. That was the cure—to eat the outside cover¬ 
ing of the rice. 

The news was spread to the people. They learned 
if they were to keep well when they had no food but 
rice, they must eat the whole of the grain. In the 
little coat which Nature had put on the kernel of 
grain there was enough vitamin food to keep people 
well. Of course white rice is a perfectly good food 
when we have other things to eat with it. But foods 
from whole grains are always more healthful than 


REGULATORS AND FOOD MAGIC 67 

those made from only the inner, or starchy, part of 
the kernel. 

Years ago, there were times when sailors on long 
voyages had to live entirely on such foods as salt pork, 
salt fish, dried meat, and bread. Then a skin disease 
often appeared among them, which was cured as soon 
as they could get milk and fresh vegetables. 

This disease is called scurvy. You scarcely hear of 
it nowadays, because people have learned that it is 
caused by a lack of vitamins. Ships travel faster 
now, they get supplies oftener, and so have the fruits, 
vegetables, eggs, and milk which the men need. On 
long trips canned milk, fruits, and vegetables, and 
fresh food in the ships’ refrigerators give protection 
against scurvy. 

Men have tested the value of vitamins in raising 
young guinea pigs. They have found that if these 
vitamins contained in foods are lacking in their diet, 
the animals do not grow as rapidly as they should. 
What is true of growing guinea pigs is also true of 
growing boys and girls. 

Often in a family only one vegetable besides potato 
is served each day. That means that if the only vege¬ 
table you like is the beet, you eat a vegetable only on 
the day your mother cooks beets. If you are going to 
be sure of having a vegetable every day, you must 
learn to like every kind that your mother serves. Do 
you like them all? Which is your favorite? Are you 
willing to try to learn to like the others ? Make a vege- 


68 


HEALTH 


table chart on the board, and keep a record to see how 
many boys and girls have learned to like the most 
common vegetables. 

Potato is not a Regulator food, you know. It is 
almost pure starch, so it does not belong to the Police¬ 
man, but to the brownie Pep. Now you can see why 
the health rule about vegetables says: “Eat some vege¬ 
tables besides potato every day.” 

Nature made fruits so sweet, juicy, and attractive 
that boys and girls cannot help liking them. There 
are some seasons when fruits are not so plentiful, espe¬ 
cially if you live far away from the city markets or 
the fruit regions. That is the time when dried fruits 
may be used. Prunes, peaches, apricots, and apples, 
when dried, are almost as good as fresh fruit if prop¬ 
erly cooked. They help to supply regulator food and 
vitamins for the body when there is a scarcity of fresh 
fruit. Fruits are better than candy to eat at recess. 
They scrub out the digestive tract and make it ready 
for dinner, while candy makes it sticky and takes away 
your appetite. 

You will like to make a page of Regulators for your 
scrapbook, because there are so many lovely pictures 
of fruits and vegetables in all the magazines. The 
picture of the Policeman may be hard to find. If you 
are somewhat of an artist, draw one,—a big, strong 
fellow, dressed in blue coat with brass buttons. 

Most people do not eat enough of the regulator and 
vitamin foods. I hope you will keep a careful record 


REGULATORS AND FOOD MAGIC 69 

of the Regulators you eat every day until you fix the 
habit of eating some at every meal! 

Many boys and girls who live on meat, potato, maca¬ 
roni, beans, and bread wonder why they do not gain in 
weight as they should. Of course Growth and Energy 
foods are important, and you need plenty of each kind 
every day. But no matter how much Growth and 
Repair Material or how much Go Material you give 
your body, you will not gain as you should, or have 
the clear glow of health in your face unless you eat 
freely of Nature’s regulators and food magic. 

The vitamins are like the carpenters who put things 
together to build a house. Without them the other 
foods cannot build a body and keep it running. With¬ 
out them a child cannot grow as he should. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What foods help to regulate the digestion ? 

2. What regulator foods did you have yesterday ? 

3. Why are dark breads and cereals better than white? 

4. What are two uses for water in the body ? 

5. How much water should you drink each day? How 
much do you drink ? 

6. Discuss the value of the health habit, ‘‘Drink a glass of 
water half an hour before breakfast every morning.” 

7. What is the proper way to use a drinking fountain ? Why 
is this important ? 

8. Did you ever see a magician perform tricks ? Could you 
see how he did them? Why are vitamins called “magic 
substances ?” 

9. What do vitamins do for the body ? 


70 


HEALTH 


10. What are the foods that contain vitamins ? 

11. Tell the story of the people in China who ate only 
polished rice. 

Things to Do 

1. Make a complete list of vegetables. 

2. Make a list of fruits. 

3. Make a list of dark breads and cereals. 

4. Keep a record of the regulator foods you eat every day. 

5. Add two pages to your scrapbook—regulators and vita¬ 
min foods. 

6. Add to your set of food posters some which show regu¬ 
lator foods and some which show vitamin foods. 

7. Make a vegetable chart on the board and keep a record 
to see which vegetables are eaten by the greatest number 
of pupils in the class each day. 


X 


IRON FOODS AND BONE BUILDERS 

IRON FOODS 

A strong ship cannot be built of wood alone. Many 
parts must be made of iron. In fact a large wooden 
ship has many tons of iron in the form of rods and 
supports to strengthen different parts. In our bodies 
the iron shows itself in good red blood. 

When we look at blood under a microscope we find 
that the liquid is clear like the fluid which fills up a 
blister on your finger. The red color comes from a 
countless number of little red discs—the red-blood 
corpuscles. These are too small to be seen without a 
microscope, and the result is that the blood looks to 
the eye like a red fluid. These little discs carry oxygen 
from the air to all parts of the body. This allows the 
different parts of the body to breathe. So you see all 
parts of the body are more alive in a person who has 
plenty of red blood than in a person who has not 
enough. 

These little corpuscles are made in the marrow of 
the long hollow bones, like those of your legs and arms. 
They are made in part of iron which must come from 
the food you eat. Of course, you cannot eat pure iron 
as it is dug out of a mine. But let me tell you about 

it in a quite different form. 

71 


72 


HEALTH 


Nature has made some little miners that dig in the 
ground for all the iron they can find. Then they store 
it up for you to eat. Sometimes they themselves have 
lovely red and yellow colors. Goldy Carrot is one of 
the best iron miners. 

Leafy Spinach is another miner who stores up a lot 
of iron. If you don’t like Leafy Spinach, it must be 
because you have never really known him very well. 
Try to get acquainted, for, among all the vegetables, 
spinach is one of the most important. 

Iron is so important in the body that doctors 
often give medicine containing iron to people who 
are pale. Men. have been very clever in making 
iron into different kinds of pills and tonics, but 
no one has been able to do as well as the fruits and 
vegetables. 

The body cannot use iron from pills and tonics 
so well as that taken out of the ground by one of 
Nature’s own miners. Of course some people would 
think it much easier to take pills. But when you learn 
that you can get much more iron in Nature’s own way, 
then you will understand why so many doctors tell 
their patients to eat more spinach, carrots, eggs, and 
fruits, instead of giving them iron pills to take. 

Children who are pale and thin need iron most. 
Plenty of iron in the blood shows in red lips and rosy 
cheeks. If you are not getting your share, try to like 
more iron foods. 

You must have heard stories of the brave Knights 


IRON FOODS AND BONE BUILDERS 


73 



of old, with their strong coats of armor. Can't we 
use the Iron Knight as a trade-mark for these foods ? 

Leafy Spinach belongs to the family of Greens. He, 
with his many brothers and sisters, such as Lettuce 
and Celery, are rich in iron and are also regulator 
foods. How many of them do you know ? 









74 


HEALTH 


Can you guess by its color what part of the egg has 
iron? You will remember that eggs also contain much 
Growth and Repair material. Most foods contain 
more than one kind of substance for the body. The 
white part of the egg is chiefly growth material, but 
the yolk also contains iron and energy material. You 
can understand why doctors sometimes tell people to 
eat several eggs each day after they have been sick. 
The eggs will repair the body and make good red 
blood. 

Iron is found in some other growth and repair foods, 
too—in liver, beef, veal, and oysters. Doctors some¬ 
times give an extract made from liver to persons who 
have not enough red blood. Molasses contains iron 
and that is one reason why it is a good sweet for chil¬ 
dren to eat. 

Many of the fruits have the trade-mark of the Iron 
Knight, too. Apples and oranges show iron in their 
color. Prunes and raisins have their share. These 
very sweet fruits, however, are eaten in smaller 
amounts usually, and they are not so important as the 
foods we eat in quantity: carrots, spinach and other 
greens, lettuce, celery, apples, and oranges. 

Watch carefully to see whether you are eating some 
of the iron foods every day. Many boys and girls 
have plenty of Growth and Repair Material, and 
enough Go Material, but fall short on Regulators and 
Iron Foods. If you are keeping a record of the foods 
you eat, add iron foods to your record for a while. 


IRON FOODS AND BONE BUILDERS 


75 


BONE BUILDERS 

The body has need of still another strengthening 
material which is supplied by certain foods. It is 
called calcium, and is the same substance which is 
found in lime and marble. You know how strong 
white marble is. Surely it is easy to guess that cal¬ 
cium builds strong teeth and bones. 

The framework of your body is built to endure great 
strain. Boys and girls may play very roughly, may 
even meet with accidents, and become severely injured 
without breaking their bones if the framework is as 
strong as it should be. 

Have you ever handled the bones of an animal to see 
how strong they are? Perhaps you remember the 
old story of how Samson smote the Philistines with 
the jawbone of an ass. How strong that bone must 
have been to serve the powerful Samson as a weapon 
of battle against his enemies! 

Some bones are more brittle than others. A baby’s 
bones are very soft, but as he grows older, they get 
harder. When one gets to be very old, the bones have 
become so brittle that they break easily. Sometimes 
children have bones and teeth that are not hard enough 
because there is not enough calcium in the body. 

Milk is perhaps our best source of calcium. That is 
another reason why small children need so much of it. 
Often children who have only a little milk in early 
childhood do not have good teeth, and the bony frame- 


76 


HEALTH 


work does not grow straight and strong, because there 
isn’t enough calcium for building it. No food can 
take the place of milk for building bones and strong 
white teeth. Some calcium is supplied, too, by many 
of the green vegetables, like cauliflower, celery, and 
spinach. Be sure that you have plenty of calcium 
foods for yourself. Try to help your younger brothers 
and sisters to drink all the milk they can and to learn 
to like leafy vegetables. 

Remember, always, if you want to make the most 
of your body, watch the food you eat every day! 

Questions to Answer 

1. What foods make red lips and rosy cheeks ? 

2. What is iron used for in our bodies ? 

3. In what ways do boys and girls show that they are get¬ 
ting enough iron? 

4. Which part of the egg contains iron ? 

5. What is calcium used for in the body? 

6. What is the best source of calcium ? 

7. What other foods contain calcium? 

Things to Do 

1. Trace a map of your own state or county. On this map 
show your “iron mines” by sketching vegetables, such as 
spinach or carrots, on the places where the largest truck 
farms are located. 

2. Keep a record of the iron foods you eat each day. 

3. Bring into class samples of foods or containers or pic¬ 
tures to represent them. Arrange these on tables as an 
exhibit of the kinds of food needed by the body: growth 
and repair material, go material, regulators and food 


IRON FOODS AND BONE BUILDERS 


77 


magic, iron foods, and bone builders. (The class may 
prepare food models by cutting out pictures of different 
foods and pasting each on a piece of thin cardboard. 
Some boys may be able to make wooden blocks with a 
groove in the top in which the food models may be stood up 
straight. These models may be kept and used in many 
ways.) 

4. Add to your set of food posters some which show iron 
foods and calcium foods. 

5. Add to your scrapbook a page for iron foods and one for 
bone builders. You may like to use a stone mason or 
builder as a trade-mark for the calcium foods. 

6. Use pictures, food models, or food brought from home 
to arrange on tables showing a good breakfast, dinner, 
and supper. 

7. Play a guessing game about food. One pupil may say, 
“I am thinking of a food that will make you grow.” 
The other pupils guess the name of it until someone 
guesses correctly, and then he takes a turn at letting 
the others guess what he is thinking of. 


XI 


DIGESTION 

How much do you weigh? Are you gaining every 
month? Weight depends upon the amount of food 
you digest more than upon the amount of food you 
eat. If you ate a big meal of sawdust you would not 
gain weight, because the body cannot make over saw¬ 
dust into flesh and bone. The body can change food 
into the things it needs. 

The blood can’t carry foods, such as bread and 
butter, milk, fruit, and vegetables, to all parts of the 
body. These foods must be digested and made over 
into a few simple substances. These can be dissolved, 
taken up by the blood, and carried to every part where 
they are needed. 

From the mouth the food passes into a long tube, 
called the digestive tract. The body pours into this 
tube certain wonderful fluids—the digestive juices. 
These are planned by Nature to dissolve certain foods 
and make them over into substances that the body can 
use for growth and energy. 

Starch is changed into sugar which can be dissolved 
in the water of the blood. Fats are turned into a 
soapy fluid. Protein is changed to simpler substances 
which will dissolve, much as gelatin does in hot water. 
No matter how many kinds of food you eat, the diges- 
78 


DIGESTION 79 

tive tract changes whatever the body can use into the 
following substances: 

1. Sugar, dissolved in water. 

2. A soapy or fatty fluid. 

3. Dissolved growth-material substances. 

4. Salts in solution—common salt and others. 

5. Water. 

6. Vitamins. (We don’t know just what they are, you 
will remember, but we know they are dissolved either 
in water or fat.) 

Here is a story about the first part of digestion. 
Perhaps you can guess what it means. 

There is a little mill, all red on the inside with two 
red gates in front. Behind these are two rows of 
jolly white millers. There are also little fountains 
that pour out juice into the little red mill. These 
juices make sugar out of starch. 

Everything that comes into the mill gets ground 
up by the jolly white millers, and all mixed up with 
the juice from the fountains. 

If you want to see how well it is done, put a piece 
of plain bread or cracker into your little red mill. 
Let it be ajl ground up by the millers and well mixed 
with the juice from the fountains. Then notice the 
taste of sweetness. What has happened? 

This is one reason why it is important to chew your 
food for a long time. If you swallow your food 
quickly, there is not time to change the starches into 
sugar. This means that part of your food has not 


HEALTH 


80 

been dissolved as it should have been, and the work of 
digestion is hindered. The fountain juices cannot do 
their work well unless you let the little white millers 
help them by chopping up the food. What important 
fellows the little millers are! Equally important is the 
dissolving juice which we call saliva. 

It is polite to eat slowly and take small bites, or 
mouthfuls, of food at a time. This is good for di¬ 
gestion, too, because it gives the food a better chance to 
get well mixed with the saliva. 

It is important, too, not to use water instead of saliva 
to soften the food, for water cannot turn starch into 
sugar. You may harm yourself by drinking water at 
mealtime if you use it to wash down your food. Drink 
water only when you have no food in your mouth. This 
is more polite, and surely it is more healthful. 

From the little red mill the food starts its journey 
down the long red lane into the tube called the diges¬ 
tive tract. Have you any idea how long this tube is? 

The length of the digestive tract is about five times 
your height. Your height is just about the same as 
the distance from the finger tips of one hand to the 
finger tips of the other hand when you stand with your 
arms outstretched. Let some boy stand with his arms 
stretched out, and measure with string five times the 
distance from finger tip to finger tip. Pull the string 
out its full length and stretch it out across the room 
to show the length of his digestive tract! How long 
is it? 


DIGESTION 


81 



The first journey which the food makes along- this 
tube is from the mouth to the stomach. Put your 
hand at your left side, just above the waist line, and 
you have the place where the stomach lies just under 
the edge of the ribs. It is a kind of bag made of mus- 























HEALTH 


82 

cles with a thin, rough lining. This is where the food 
is stored and where the work of digestion continues. 

The lining contains many little fountains, called 
glands, which send out a fluid called gastric juice. 
This dissolves the protein in food and gets it ready 
to be used by the body as growth and repair material. 

Have you ever seen tripe at the market or eaten it 
at home? Tripe is part of the cow’s stomach, care¬ 
fully cleaned and prepared to be used as food. In a 
piece of tripe, you can see the wall of muscle and the 
rough lining. When there is food in the stomach, the 
muscles keep up a constant squeezing or churning 
motion, first tightening and then relaxing, until all 
the food inside has become thoroughly mixed with 
the gastric juice. 

You can see at once that if you send the food into 
the stomach in large pieces, it will not be dissolved as 
quickly as when it has been properly ground up by the 
teeth. The stomach cannot grind it. So here’s an¬ 
other reason why you should chew your food thor¬ 
oughly. A little boy who lived on a farm out West 
made a health poster on which he said: “Chew your 
food. You haven’t any gizzard!” He knew why the 
hen needs to have a gizzard. 

As soon as the food has been well mixed with the 
gastric juice in the stomach, it is passed on to the 
small intestine. This is the longest part of the diges¬ 
tive tract and is coiled up in the region of the abdomen. 
Here other kinds of food are digested and made ready 


DIGESTION 


83 

for use. There are three digestive juices poured into 
the intestine: the pancreatic juice, the intestinal juice, 
and the bile. These change fats into soapy fluids and 
complete the digestion of protein, starch, and sugar. 
Here, also, the digested food substances are taken up 
by the circulation. The food becomes thoroughly 
mixed with the juices in the intestine in the same way 
that it becomes mixed with the gastric juice in the 
stomach; that is, by muscular movements in the wall 
of the intestine. Through the tiny projections on the 
thin wall of the intestine, the simple food substances 
are taken up by the blood and carried to all parts of 
the body. 

The work of dissolving different kinds of food is 
nearly finished before the food reaches the large in¬ 
testine or colon. This is much larger around than the 
small intestine, but not nearly as long. Here the re¬ 
maining substances are passed along very slowly. 
Most of the water is absorbed, and the waste material 
is passed off from the body every day. 

When the digestive system is in good order, its 
work is done very naturally and easily without your 
thinking anything about it. The digestive tract may 
be injured, however, so that it does not digest food 
well. Eating too much of the wrong kind of food, 
or failing to eat enough of the right kind, may harm 
the digestive system. Bad habits of eating, such as 
eating too fast and eating between meals, may also 
have a harmful effect. Serious trouble often comes 


84 


HEALTH 


from the constant use of alcohol, which irritates the 
delicate lining of the stomach. Do you believe a per¬ 
son can injure his digestive system without injuring 
his general health ? 

Questions to Answer 

1. How is the food carried to all parts of the body? 

2. What happens to starch in the mouth? 

3. Why is thorough chewing necessary? 

4. What are the six simple food substances carried by 
the blood ? 

5. Explain the reason for the rule, “Never drink water 
when you have food in your mouth.” 

6. What is the stomach like, and what does it do in the work 
of digestion? 

7. Describe the small and large intestines. 

8. What are some of the ways in which a good digestive 
tract may be injured? 

9. What does alcohol do to the stomach ? 

Things to Do 

1. Have some member of the class bring in a piece of tripe. 
Examine it carefully. 

2. Try measuring the length of the digestive tract by the 
method described in this chapter. 

3. Complete the following sentences: 

_in the mouth changes_to a simple_ 

The stomach digests_There are three digestive 

_in the_intestine. They change_into 

soapy fluids and complete the digestion of _, 

-, and-The digested food substances in 

the small _ are absorbed by the__ 

material is passed off from the _ intestine every 

day. Bad habits of_may injure the_system. 


















XII 


KEEPING A GOOD DIGESTION 

All the work of digestion is unconscious. You don’t 
have to think about it. Yet the way you feel has 
something to do with the work of the digestive tract. 
Your digestive system cannot work well when you are 
worried, cross, disagreeable, or excited. It works best 
when you enjoy your food. 

You know how your mouth waters at just the 
thought of foods you like very much. When you 
enjoy food, the saliva flows more freely, and that 
actually helps your digestion. By careful studies with 
animals we know that the stomach “waters,” too. 
The juices flow when we are eating happily, and stop 
when we are angry or in pain or frightened. The 
churning movements of the stomach and intestines 
are also affected by the way we feel. 

A cat was fed with a kind of food which made the 
outline of her stomach show up clearly when she was 
watched through the X-ray. She was comfortably 
enjoying her meal. Her stomach began to work with 
the churning motion, and digestion was begun. Then 
a dog was brought into the room. He didn’t touch the 
cat; he wasn’t even near her. But the cat was nervous 
as soon as she noticed him. How do you suppose it 
affected the motions of her stomach? The churning 

85 


86 


HEALTH 


movement stopped and did not begin again until some 
time after the dog had been taken out of the room. 

There have been many studies which show that be¬ 
ing happy and contented at mealtime really helps diges¬ 
tion. Children ought to practice good manners at the 
table for the sake of their health as well as for the 
sake of politeness, because bad manners always bring 
unpleasantness. Try to help your family have a happy 
mealtime by being as polite as you can. It is great fun 
to see if you can improve your table manners so much 
that Father or Mother will notice it. Do not say 
anything about what you are going to do, but try hard 
every meal to be polite and pleasant to every one at 
the table. 

A story is told of an errand boy who was sent out by 
a druggist with a large order of medicine for a family 
who lived either at Number Eight or Number Ten of 
a certain street. The boy was not sure which was the 
right house. He looked through the window at Num¬ 
ber Eight, where the members of this family were 
eating supper, all talking and laughing. They looked 
so happy and healthy that the boy knew the drugs 
could not be going* to that house. Next door, at 
Number Ten, the family was also at supper. Through 
the open window came the sound of quarrelling. 
When the boy heard them, and saw their cross, un¬ 
happy faces, he said, “This is the family that has to 
take the medicine!” 

Cheerfulness is health-giving to other people as 


KEEPING A GOOD DIGESTION 


87 



well as to ourselves. It has a great effect on the 
proper working of all parts of the body. When you 
make a list of food habits, don’t forget the habit of 
cheerfulness. It is the best-known tonic for the diges¬ 
tive system, and without good digestion a boy can 
hardly be first class in growth and health. 

Another way to help digestion is to have your foods 
cooked in the right way. Foods which are baked, 
steamed, or boiled digest very easily; but foods which 
are fried are hard to digest. The fat in which they 
are fried forms a coating on the outside of the food 
particles. Through this coating the digestive juices 
cannot easily pass, so the process of digestion is 
delayed and made difficult. 





HEALTH 


Your digestive tract is like the firebox of the ship. 
It receives the fuel which furnishes power for your 
body. Of course it does more than that, for it also 
selects the building foods and gives them to the blood 
for growth and repair. Imagine what would happen 
to the power of the ship if the firemen allow'ed the 
fires to keep on two or three days without shaking 
them and taking away the ashes. The fires would go 
out or burn so low that they could not continue to 
furnish power. 

One boy made a poster with a picture of a firebox, 
under which he said: “This firebox is cleaned out 
every day! How about yours?” If you eat an abun¬ 
dance of fruits, vegetables, and coarse foods, and 
drink quantities of pure water between meals, your 
digestive tract will be so well regulated that it will 
take care of the “ashes” all right. You will get the 
habit of removing the waste from your intestine at 
least once a day. A great many people do not eat the 
necessary regulator foods, and the result is that the 
waste is not properly carried along the digestive tract 
and eliminated in a good bowel movement every day. 

Some people think it much easier to take physic 
than to eat properly. Surely when you understand 
how the making over of food goes on in your digestive 
tract, you will see that this important work of carrying 
off waste should be brought about in the natural way, 
and not by taking drugs and physic, except perhaps 
occasionally when you are sick. There are different 


KEEPING A GOOD DIGESTION 89 

ways of testing boilers and engines. One of the very 
best tests for a good digestive system is: “Do you have 
a bowel movement every day without taking physic?” 

Sometimes a person is made ill by eating food which 
has spoiled. Foods which spoil easily should be kept 
in an ice box or in a cold pantry. All foods should be 
kept as clean as possible. Boys and girls who have 
clean habits never eat food which is picked up from the 
floor, ground, or street, and they do not exchange bites 
of food with other children. 

Questions to Answer 

1. How is digestion affected by the way one feels? 

2. Explain the importance of the health rule, ‘‘Be polite 

at the table.” 

3. Why are fried foods hard to digest? 

4. What regulator foods will help to keep the digestive tract 

clean ? 

5. Why is a daily bowel movement important? 

6. How many of these rules do you practice every day? 

a. Eat slowly and chew your food well. 

b. Be polite at the table and have a happy mealtime. 

c. Be cheerful. 

d. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and coarse foods. 

e. Drink at least four glasses of water a day. 

f. Have a bowel movement every morning after breakfast. 

g. Avoid taking physic. 

Things to Do 

1. Add pages to your scrapbook to show habits which in¬ 
fluence good digestion. 


90 


HEALTH 


2. Keep a record of s'ome of your eating habits for the 
next two weeks. 

3. If there are younger children at home, try to help them 
form one of the habits discussed in this chapter, and re¬ 
port your progress to the class. 

4. Retell the stories in this chapter. 

5. Arrange the following words to make true statements: 

Helps cheerfulness digestion. 

Meals at health good is politeness for. 

Foods to digest are fried hard. 

Digestion daily helps a bowel movement. 




XIII 


WHEN TO EAT 

There is a time for everything'!” It is not enough 
to know what to eat and how to eat. One must know 
when to eat, and especially when not to eat! 

The body gets along better on regular habits of 
eating than it does on irregular habits, even if it gets 
the same amount of food. We do not know the exact 
reason for this, but we do know from watching the 
growth of young animals and of children that it is 
true. 

A man who had some good farm horses lost his 
hired man and was obliged to get a new one. Very 
soon he noticed that his horses did not look so well as 
usual and that they seemed to tire more easily. The 
hired man appeared to be taking good care of them, 
and giving them the right amounts of food and water. 
By watching carefully the farmer found that the 
time for feeding was not regular. One day it was at 
eleven o’clock, the next day at one o’clock, and so on. 
Sometimes the horses were not given a drink of water 
from morning till night. He came to the conclusion 
that the health of his horses was suffering because 
they were not being fed and watered at regular times. 

Children, too, suffer in health and strength when 
their feeding is irregular. Babies must be fed very 
91 


92 


HEALTH 


often, of course, because they take only a small amount 
of food at a time, and they are growing fast. But 
they are fed at regular times and not in between. As 
they get older, they eat more at each feeding-time but 
not so often. By the time boys and girls go to school, 
most of them get along very well on three meals a day, 
as grown-up people do. 

Shoufd children ever eat between meals? Yes, if 
they need extra food; but they should eat foods which 
give real nourishment for the body, are easily digested, 
and which do not spoil the appetite for the regular 
meals. Your stomach must have time for rest. What¬ 
ever you eat between meals should put only a small 
amount of work on the digestive system. If you are 
going to work the digestive system at all between 
meals, you must make it worth while by eating some¬ 
thing which has real nourishment. 

It is more important for children to have three good 
meals regularly than to take extra food between. The 
most dangerous between-meal foods are those which 
spoil the appetite. Some boys and girls cannot eat 
anything between meals without losing their appetite 
for regular meals. It is better for them never to eat 
between meals at all. 

Milk is one of the best between-meal foods. It is 
nourishing, easily digested, and it usually does not 
spoil the appetite. Milk at recess helps children to 
gain. Perhaps it even helps them to do better work 
in school, for teachers often say that children who 


WHEN TO EAT 


93 



drink milk at recess are not so tired during the last 
part of the session. 

Bread and butter is good food to eat between meals 
if you really need a lunch. Have dark bread if pos¬ 
sible. Fruits, such as apples, oranges, and grapes, are 
splendid, too. There are certain foods, however, 
which no one can eat between meals without spoiling 
the appetite. These are the sweet foods, such as cake, 
cookies, pie, and candy. You probably know from 
your own experience that sweets do spoil your appe¬ 
tite ; but do you know why ? 


































94 


HEALTH 


In maple-sugar time, when the sap commences to 
run, all the children of the neighborhood take to the 
woods, if possible, and soon the fun begins. Holes 
are bored in the trees and pails are hung on the wooden 
pegs to catch the sap. You taste the sap from first 
one tree and then another. You find some which is 
especially sweet, and you lose your taste for the other 
sap. 

Then the boiling down begins. You taste from one 
kettle after another until at last you taste the syrup 
which has boiled to the point of making sugar. 
Nothing tastes sweet for you after that except the 
rich, sweet sirup, or the sugar itself. Why? Because 
food which is very sweet spoils the taste for anything 
which is not as sweet as itself. This is the most 
serious thing about eating sweets between meals; it 
keeps you from eating the foods your digestive system 
needs, and as a result your whole body suffers. 

Imagine what the Digestive System would say if it 
could speak! After suffering for some time from a 
girl’s habit of eating sweets between meals every day, 
the diary of her Digestive System might read some¬ 
what like this: 

“Monday, Nov. 3d. Mary Ellen got up late 
this morning. She was in such a hurry that she 
took me off to school without giving me any 
breakfast at all. Mary did not do very well in 


WHEN TO EAT 


95 


school because she was tired and hungry, and I 
didn’t feel well. At recess time I told her I must 
have something to eat. She gave me some candy, 
which satisfied me for a while. 

“When we got home at noon, there was a good 
dinner, but I could not forget the candy I had at 
recess. So Mary did not eat much. She was lazy 
all the afternoon. After school I told her that 
what she needed was something to eat. She 
bought an ice-cream soda. It tasted good and we 
felt better, but it was so sweet that Mary was not 
very hungry for supper. 

“ Tuesday, Nov. 4th. It was the same old story 
last night. I was so hungry before bedtime that 
Mary ate some pie. She didn’t sleep well, be¬ 
cause I felt so uncomfortable that I disturbed 
her. Why doesn’t Mary Ellen learn that I can¬ 
not work well and keep her happy and healthy 
when she abuses me this way! I am so hungry 
for real food, but all she sent down for breakfast 
was a doughnut and coffee. That does not do 
me much good. 

Monday, Dec. 1st. Mary Ellen didn’t gain 
when she was weighed to-day. She hasn’t gained 
at all since school began. Her teacher said that 
she looked pale and tired and asked her what was 
the trouble. How I wished I could tell the teacher 
that Mary eats nothing but sweets! How can she 
grow without the foods which make her grow? 


96 


HEALTH 


How can I do my work without fruits and vege¬ 
tables ? 

“I am worried about Mary Ellen. I feel sick 
most of the time. Mary is cross, she does poor 
work in school, she does not sleep well, she does 
not want to play, and she is pale and thin. Won’t 
somebody please teach Mary Ellen to stop eating 
sweets between meals?” 

We do not mean that you cannot eat pies, cakes, and 
candy at all. The proper time to eat them is after 
meals. You can enjoy them then just as much as at any 
other time. But you do not really need sweets at all if 
you have plenty of other foods. Of course there are 
sometimes parties after school where you will have 
things to eat which may spoil your appetite somewhat 
that night. You will want to eat them. But when you 
have a party in the afternoon, why not plan things to 
eat that will not spoil every one’s appetite for supper? 
You might have fruit, or plain ice cream and sponge 
cake, or sandwiches and orangeade, if the weather is 
warm. In winter, perhaps you would like hot chocolate 
with sandwiches. 

Tobacco is another thing which spoils the appetite. 
A growing boy often loses weight when he smokes, 
and gains again when he stops the habit. Doubtless 
one reason for his loss of weight is his loss of appe¬ 
tite. Surely a boy who wants to grow up strong and 
sturdy can’t afford to smoke. 


WHEN TO EAT 


97 


Children sometimes get the habit of eating pickles 
between meals. Pickles are hard to digest, because 
they are made from cucumbers which are not ripe, and 
because they are soaked in vinegar. Unripe things are 
always hard to digest. You remember the aches and 
pains which follow the greedy eating of green apples 
in the summer. Pickled foods are also hard to digest 
because the vinegar makes it difficult for the digestive 
juices to do their work. The best way to eat a pickle is 
to eat only a small amount of it with other foods at 
mealtime. When it is a question of pickles between 
meals, practice health and thrift at the same time. 
“Spare the pickle, and save the nickel.” 

Our meals should be regular and of the right sort. 
Perhaps the meal that gets slighted more than any 
other is breakfast. If there is any time in the day when 
you surely need food, it is at breakfast time. From 
supper to breakfast is the longest time without fuel 
for the body; and if you want to be ready for the day’s 
work, you surely need to eat breakfast. One boy lost 
weight two months in succession just because he did 
not eat breakfast, and gained two pounds the next 
month when he did eat it. What is your idea of a 
good breakfast? It would probably include fruit, if 
possible, and cereal with cream or milk, toast or coarse 
muffins, perhaps an egg, and surely milk or cocoa to 
drink. If you find it very hard to eat a good break¬ 
fast, try eating as much as you can, and drinking milk 
and egg beaten together in addition. 


98 


HEALTH 


There are several ways in which you can help your¬ 
self to get a breakfast appetite. One is to get up early 
enough to have time for washing and dressing properly 
before eating. Unless father has breakfast very early, 
you will want to eat with the rest of the family. You 
are more likely to be hungry when you sit at the table 
and eat with other people. If there is time for you to 
do an errand or help your mother in some way, that 
will give you a bit of exercise and fresh air which 
helps you get hungry for breakfast. It also helps your 
appetite in the morning if you have a clean mouth. A 
mouth that has its teeth well brushed the last thing at 
night and the first thing in the morning is much more 
likely to be a hungry mouth at breakfast time. If you 
find it hard to eat a good breakfast, you should never 
let yourself eat after supper at night. 

It is much better for boys and girls to eat a light 
supper at all times if they can. In some families where 
the father is away all day, supper is the real dinner, 
and so the children eat their biggest meal at night. If 
you can have your dinner at noon and eat a light sup¬ 
per of cereal, fruit, and milk, or a salad with bread and 
butter and cocoa, it is a better thing to do. As your 
digestive system will not have to work so hard, you are 
likely to sleep better. Heavy eating at night causes 
restlessness, dreaming, and lying awake. 

The noon meal may be as much and as varied as 
you like, if it gives you building material and fuel for 
your human ship. Just a thin soup and cracker does 



WHEN TO EAT 


99 


not supply that. Neither does just a piece of cake and 
a cup of tea. You are sure to be hungry, and this is the 
natural time for your dinner of vegetables, bread and 
butter, meat, fish, or eggs, milk, and simple dessert of 
fruit, custard, or plain pudding. If your family has 
the heavy meal at night, you should be sure to have a 
simple warm lunch at noontime. Remember that the 
food you put into your mouth does not merely drop into 
a sort of bag, but becomes a part of your body. 

What, then, are the rules for giving your digestive 
system a fair chance? First are the rules about eating 
between meals and then the rules about meals. Per¬ 
haps you can write them in your notebook and add 
them to the rules of the health game you are playing. 
You can illustrate the right kind of lunches and the 
right kind of breakfasts, dinners, and suppers in class. 

If you will eat good meals, you will not feel the need 
of between-meal lunches; and if you do not lunch be¬ 
tween meals, it will be easier to eat good meals. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What is meant by “regularity of meals”? Why is regu¬ 
larity important? 

2. Under what conditions is it all right for children to eat 
between meals? What are suitable between-meal foods? 

3. If you eat sweets at all, what is the proper time to eat 
them? Explain why sweets should not be eaten between 
meals. 

4. How may tobacco affect one’s appetite ? 

5. Why is breakfast an important meal? 


100 


HEALTH 


6 . What would you include in a good breakfast? Give a 
reason for including each food. 

7 . Tell several ways to help yourself have a good appetite 
for breakfast. 

Things to Do 

1. Make a number of suitable menus for breakfast, dinner, 
and supper, using foods which are in the market at the 
present time and which you could afford to buy. Have 
the best menu for each meal mounted on a chdrt, with 
picture illustrations, apd hung up in the classroom. Food 
models may be used to illustrate the meals. 

2. Keep a record of what you eat for breakfast every day 
for a week. Discuss your records in class. 

3. Plan suitable refreshments for a party. 

4. Add to your scrapbook a page to illustrate a good breakfast. 

5. Make true statements using the following words: regular, 
nourishing, appetite, sweets, pickles, breakfast, supper, 
noontime, between meals. 



XIV 


THE TEETH 

What excitement there is in the house when baby 
cuts his first tooth! The lower front teeth are usually 
the first to come through. This is when baby is about 
six months old. By the time he is eight months old, he 
will probably have four teeth. At ten months, he will 
have four cutting teeth in the upper jaw and four in 
the lower jaw. When he is about a year old, he will 
cut his first grinding teeth. About the seventeenth or 
eighteenth month, he will cut the other sharp teeth 
which come in place between the front teeth and the 
grinders. When about two years old, baby cuts his 
last four teeth. These are grinding teeth and come 
through behind the others. Now he has the full set 
of baby teeth, which are to last him until he is old 
enough to go to school. 

The jaws are very small when the first set of teeth 
comes, and a second set of larger teeth comes later 
when the jaws are more fully grown. The first tooth 
in the second set does not come at the front of the 
mouth, as it did in the first set. One by one the sec¬ 
ond set takes the place of the first, so that there are 
always some teeth in position to chew the food. 

The first tooth of the second set of teeth is a big 
double one, called a molar. It appears directly behind 
the last one of the first set. There are four of these 
101 


102 


HEALTH 



in all, one on each side of the upper and lower jaws. 
These are called the six-year molars because they 
come when a child is about six years old. Look at 
the diagram and see where they are. Find them 
in your own mouth by counting from the middle of 
your jaw to the sixth tooth, which is the six-year 
molar. 

As soon as the six-year molars are in place, and 
ready to do most of the chewing for you, Nature con¬ 
tinues to replace your baby teeth with the permanent 
ones. These changes begin at the front of your mouth, 








THE TEETH 


103 


when you are about seven years old, and continue until, 
by the time you are eleven or twelve years old, a new 
strong tooth has come in place of every old one. 

Then when you are about twelve years old, Nature 
gives you more big teeth just beyond the six-year 
molars. Can you guess what they are called? After 
these twelve-year molars come four more, called the 
Wisdom teeth, which usually appear when you are 
about seventeen, although they may come much later. 

The six-year molars come through in time to do the 
work of chewing while the first teeth are being replaced. 
They are not so strong as the twelve-year molars. 
Their protecting coat of enamel is thin, and there may 
be tiny open places, or fissures, in the enamel, so that 
they are likely to decay more quickly. For this reason 
they must have extra good care. Children do not 
know this, and as a result lose their six-year molars 
before they grow up. 

Even mothers and fathers often do not realize that 
the six-year molars are second teeth, but think they are 
the last teeth of the first set. They don’t understand 
how serious it is when cavities come in these molars, 
for they believe the teeth will fall out and be replaced 
with new ones. 

Have you kept all four of your six-year molars? 
If you have little brothers and sisters, watch for their 
six-year molars to come through. Perhaps you can 
help them to save their teeth, even if you have lost some 
of your own. 


104 


HEALTH 


You will remember that teeth are made of calcium, 
a substance which you have seen in lime and in marble. 
You may also remember that the body gets this sub¬ 
stance from certain foods, like milk and leafy vege¬ 
tables. There is a very hard layer on the outside of the 
tooth called the enamel, the hardest substance in the 
body. The inside of the tooth is called dentine. This 
is hard, too, but not quite so hard as the enamel. Solid 
and hard as the tooth is, however, it is often destroyed. 

When food in small particles is left between the 
teeth, it spoils, forming acids which destroy the calcium 
in the tooth. This often happens where food is tucked 
tightly away in little spaces between the teeth or in 
hollow parts of a tooth, especially where there is a tiny 
break in the enamel. When a pocket has been started, 
more food is stored there. This food spoils inside 
the cavity, which enlarges rapidly. At the center of 
the tooth are blood vessels and a nerve. When the 
cavity reaches this point, the nerve is not protected 
and begins to let you know there is serious trouble. 
Your tooth hurts when you take something cold into 
your mouth, and soon begins to ache. 

There are certain rules in caring for the teeth, as in 
caring for other parts of the body. The first rule, 
especially for children, is to be sure to have plenty 
of the foods which furnish calcium for building teeth. 
You know what they are. Most of your teeth are 
already formed, but the supply of calcium needs to be 
kept up. Boys and girls who want strong, white teeth, 


THE TEETH 


105 


should drink a quart of milk every day and also eat 
fruit and leafy vegetables, for these are the foods which 
build teeth and keep them strong. 

Another rule is to eat hard foods which require a 
lot of chewing. This helps to keep the teeth strong 
and clean. Fruits that are slightly acid, like apples and 
oranges, also help to clean the teeth. The teeth of ani¬ 
mals usually last until old age, although they receive no 
particular care. Animals do, however, use their teeth, 
and exercise them by eating hard foods which they 
chew well. 

Races of people who live on hard, coarse foods usu¬ 
ally have teeth that are much better than those of 
people who eat soft foods, as we do. A large number 
of children who came to this country from Russia soon 
after the World War had perfect teeth, though they 
had never used a toothbrush and had never been to a 
dentist. Why? Because they had eaten plenty of the 
foods which build good teeth and had used their teeth 
vigorously. With the kind of food we eat we find it 
very important to use the toothbrush and to visit the 
dentist regularly. 

The third rule is: “Keep your teeth clean.” Use your 
toothbrush at least once a day. Twice or three times is 
better. Most people like to start the day with a clean 
mouth, so they brush their teeth the first thing in the 
morning. They like to go to sleep with a clean mouth, 
so they brush their teeth the last thing at night. Many 
people also brush their teeth after each meal. There is 


106 


HEALTH 


Some children are 
untidy 

And not a bit like 
me, 

For every day 
In the proper way 
I brush my teeth, 
you see. 



no danger of brushing them too much! It not only 
helps to keep your mouth clean, but it also helps to keep 
the gums healthy, by cleaning them and increasing 
the circulation of the blood in them. It is most impor¬ 
tant of all to brush the teeth before going to bed. 

The first important point to remember in brushing 
your teeth is: Brush up and down. The next is: Be 
sure to brush every part of your teeth, “upstairs,’’ 
“downstairs,” inside, outside and on the chewing sur¬ 
faces. Last of all: Brush your tongue and the roof 
of your mouth, for your toothbrush is not only a tooth¬ 
brush; it is a mouth brush. Last of all, rinse the 
mouth with cold water. 

If your brush is to help you keep a clean mouth, you 






THE TEETH 


107 



must keep the brush itself clean. Rinse it well, after 
using, in hot water if possible. Shake out all the 
water, and put it in a clean, light place to dry. Do not 
put it into a closet or shut it up in a box or fancy case 
where it will not dry. Many people have a toothbrush 
holder in the bathroom where the brushes can be hung 
up out of the way. It is easy to put up a little 
screw hook on which you can hang your brush. If 
you haven't any such place, stand it up in a glass or 
cup. 

It does not matter so much what kind of paste or 
powder you use. If your dentist tells you some kind 
that he thinks is particularly good for your teeth, you 
will want to use that kind. Otherwise, find some kind 
that you like, that makes your mouth feel clean and 
your teeth look white, You can keep your teeth clean 

























HEALTH 


108 

without toothpaste or powder. The important thing 
is to brush them. Did you ever hear of using a little 
salt or a little baking soda in water? Powdered chalk, 
also, is very good. 

Another rule for saving your teeth is to go to the 
dentist every six months. Do not wait until you are 
suffering, for then it is probably too late for the den¬ 
tist to save your tooth. If you go early, he doesn’t 
have to drill near the nerve and you are not hurt. Let 
the dentist clean your teeth with his big whirring 
brushes, and fill up any little cavities he finds. Re¬ 
member that when a little pocket has been made in 
your tooth, you yourself can do nothing to mend that 
tooth. The only person who can help you is the den¬ 
tist. Sometimes boys and girls seem to think that 
Nature is going to keep on giving more teeth, just as 
she gave the second set to replace the first. But she 
doesn’t do it. No power in the world can bring back 
lost second teeth. So take good care of yours. 

Why does every one wish to have teeth in good con¬ 
dition ? One reason is that teeth make you look better. 
People like to see clean, white teeth when you smile. 
Teeth give form to the face, too. You know that when 
older people lose their teeth, their cheeks hollow in, 
and they do not look so well. When children lose their 
molars, it makes a difference in the growth of the jaws 
and the shape of the face. Another reason why you 
do not want to lose your teeth is because you can’t 
chew food properly. Many boys and girls who have 


THE TEETH 


109 


bad teeth cannot eat properly. They gain weight more 
rapidly after they have their teeth put in good condi¬ 
tion. 

A dentist was employed to come to a big factory to 
repair teeth for the men during working hours. After 
the dentist had been working for some time, the doc¬ 
tor of the plant noticed that he was having only about 
half as many cases of indigestion as before. He de¬ 
cided that many of the men had indigestion simply 
because they could not chew their food well. 

No workman can do fine work without tools in good 
condition. No boy or girl can supply his body with 
plenty of food for growth unless his teeth are first- 
class tools with which to work. Take care of your 
teeth, for all the wealth in the world cannot replace 
them! 

How many of these rules for care of the teeth do 
you keep ? 

1. Drink a quart of milk a day and eat leafy vegetables and 

fresh fruit. 

2. Eat hard foods which exercise your jaws and help to 

keep your teeth clean. 

3. Brush your teeth at least once a day. 

4. Go to the dentist every six months. 

Many classes have an inspection of teeth every day 
and keep some sort of a record. Sometimes the teacher 
inspects the teeth; sometimes there is a captain in each 
row who does it. 


HEALTH 


110 


1 . 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6 . 
7. 


8 . 

9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 


i. 


2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 


Questions to Answer 

What are the temporary teeth? How many are there? 
What are the molars ? The six-year molars ? The wis¬ 
dom teeth ? 

What is the enamel of the tooth ? The dentine ? 

How many teeth are there in the second set? At about 
what age are these teeth all in place ? 

What are the reasons for taking care of the first teeth ? 
Why are the six-year molars often lost? 

What foods help build strong teeth ? What is the tooth¬ 
building substance called? What other parts of the body 
use this substance ? 

How can you save your teeth from decay ? 

Give four rules to follow in caring for the teeth. 

What are the reasons why you should brush your teeth 
at least twice a day ? 

Why is it important to have your own toothbrush ? 

How do you judge a good toothbrush? Why is it im¬ 
portant to have a stiff brush ? 

How should the toothbrush be cared for ? 

Why should one refrain from biting hard objects such 
as nuts and thread? 

Things to Do 

If there is a baby in your family, find out how old he is 
and how many teeth he has. Give your reports in class. 
See whether you can find out how many of your own tem¬ 
porary teeth have fallen out and been replaced by new ones. 
Find your own six-year molars. Are they whole and 
clean ? 

Add to your scrapbook pages to illustrate rules for care 
of the teeth. 

Have a toothbrush drill in class. Pretend you have your 


THE TEETH 


111 


toothbrush and a glass of water. As you brush, say to 
yourself, “Up, down, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, dip (into 
water).” Do this for the upper, lower, back, and front 
teeth, and then finish with a round-and-round motion on 
the chewing surfaces of the teeth, tongue, and roof of 
the mouth. 

6 . Bring into class whatever information you can find about 
the teeth of animals and how they are used. 

7. Inspect for clean teeth as part of your morning inspection. 
Keep a record on the blackboard to show how many chil¬ 
dren brush their teeth every day. 

8 . Start an honor roll for teeth on the blackboard. Put 
on the roll the names of the children who have their 
dentistry all done and who keep their teeth clean. Add 
to the honor roll the names of other children as soon as 
they have their dentistry done. See whether you can 
have your class one hundred per cent on the honor roll 
before school closes. 


XV 


KEEPING CLEAN 

If you live near a big seaport, perhaps sometime you 
have seen a large ocean liner set up in dry dock. A dry 
dock is like a huge basin or tank. The side toward the 
ocean is open and is fitted with a kind of gate, where 
the big ship is floated in. Then the water-tight gate is 
closed and all of the water is pumped out of the basin, 
so that the ship is left standing on the cement floor of 
the now empty tank. 

Whenever a ship goes into dry dock for any kind 
of repairs, the captain always takes the opportunity to 
have the outside of the boat cleaned and painted below 
the water line. The ship picks up dirt from the water. 
Little animals and plants living in the water attach 
themselves to the bottom of the boat. Salt water spoils 
wood or steel, so a special kind of copper paint is used 
to keep the water out. This paint has to be renewed 
quite often, as a protection, for without it there would 
soon be leaks and the ship would not be safe. 

If you were lucky enough to go aboard this ocean 
liner, you would find that every spot is very clean. The 
woodwork is beautiful. Here again the clean paint is 
a protection, for it preserves the wood and keeps it in 
good condition. It also makes the ship look well. 
Imagine what an ugly thing a ship or a house would 

be without paint! What an ugly thing, too, is a ship 
11 2 


KEEPING CLEAN 


113 


with dirty paint! The covering of the ship cannot add 
beauty unless it is clean; neither can it give proper pro¬ 
tection. 

In your living ship, the outside covering, or skin, is 
like the paint. The skin gives protection and beauty 
if it is clean. Cleanliness does not always save one 
from every kind of sickness, but it certainly helps. 
Without cleanliness, surely one cannot be attractive to 
other people. You are not attracted to a new classmate 
at first sight if he looks dirty and careless. He may 
be a splendid boy, cheerful, unselfish, willing to work 
hard, and always doing things for other people. You 
will like him for these things when you know him bet¬ 
ter, but you will never forget that he is careless in 
his habits of cleanliness. Won’t other people feel the 
same about you? 

In fact, you are judged so much by your personal 
appearance that you cannot afford to be careless about 
it, even though it takes quite a bit of time every day 
to keep your body and your clothes in good condition. 
Not only do you have to fight against the dirt which 
comes from dust in the air, and from touching dirty 
things, but you have to be ever on guard against the 
dirt which comes from your own body. 

All over the outside of a ship are round openings 
to let in light and air. They are called portholes. Your 
skin has countless “portholes,” too. They are very 
small openings, called pores. The pores are not used so 
much to let in air as to throw off waste material fiom 


114 


HEALTH 


the body, just as the portholes of the ship are some¬ 
times used for throwing out waste. The material 
thrown off through the pores is called perspiration, or 
sweat. 

The pores in the skin are so small that they cannot 
be seen very easily. See how your finger tips are 
marked with fine, curved lines. By using a magni¬ 
fying glass you can see the little pores arranged there 
side by side. Sometimes when your fingers are warm 
and moist, you can see in the pores little drops of per¬ 
spiration. This contains small amounts of waste 
material thrown out from your body. 

There is a still more important use for perspiration 
than carrying off waste. When you are very warm 
on a summer day, or when you have been playing hard, 
perspiration pours out freely on the skin to cool you 
off. Some people never perspire very freely, and they 
suffer more from heat because they do not cool off in 
this way. 

You should exercise vigorously enough every day so 
that your pores are opened to let out perspiration on 
the skin. Be careful, of course, not to get chilly and 
so take cold after you have been exercising. Even 
when you do not perspire enough to feel it, some waste 
material is being thrown out through the pores. 
This remains on the skin until you remove it with soap 
and water. 

When you understand that the skin has these little 
openings, or pores, you can easily see why you need to 


KEEPING CLEAN 


115 



have a full bath often. Unless your skin is kept well 
scrubbed and clean, the little pores become clogged up, 
and your skin looks coarse and dirty instead of clear 
and fresh. Unless you are clean all over, the odor of 
perspiration may annoy other people. Some parts 
of the body, like the feet and armpits, perspire 
more freely than the rest of the body. Be sure 
to guard against disagreeable odors by bathing these 
parts thoroughly every day. You can’t deceive 
people about your cleanliness. If you are really 


















116 


HEALTH 


clean, they know it! If you are only nearly clean, they 
also know that! 

Many people have a full bath every day with water 
which is cold or at least cool. That may not be neces¬ 
sary, but every one who wants to be clean should have 
a full, warm, scrub bath at least twice a week. Do not 
feel that you cannot have a full bath just because it is 
not possible for you to have a bathtub full of hot 
water. You can at least scrub all over from a wash 
basin or foot tub, as many other boys and girls do. A 
bath in the washtub is great fun, too. 

If you do not have a full bath every day, you must 
be sure to scrub well all the soiled parts of the body 
that need a daily wash. Sometimes it seems as though 
ears were made just to hinder when you are in a hurry 
to get through your wash before breakfast. Do not 
think for a minute they can just as well wait until to¬ 
morrow, for some one will be sure to discover that 
those ears got left out of the morning wash! The back 
of your neck is another spot which sometimes escapes 
a scrub. You cannot see how your own neck looks when 
it has not been washed, but haven’t you seen an un¬ 
washed neck on someone else? How can you risk 
yours looking like that! 

No part of your body touches so many dirty things 
as do your hands. They need to be scrubbed thor¬ 
oughly and regularly with soap and warm water. A 
hand brush helps to take away the grimy look from 
knuckles and finger nails. If you like a nice clean table 


KEEPING CLEAN 


117 



at mealtime, you must like clean hands at mealtime, 
too. Of course, the hands must be washed several 
times a day—always before meals, after going to the 
toilet, and before going to bed. 

Hands are not clean unless the nails are clean, too. 
Make a practice of cleaning your nails when you wash 
your hands. They clean more easily then. The best 
way to clean them is with an orange-wood stick or 
toothpick. These will not scratch the nails underneath. 
A sharp file or knife blade makes the nails so rough 
that they catch more dirt and look grimy all the time. 

The nails also need to be kept smooth and curved 
with a file or nail board. They may be cut with the 




































118 


HEALTH 


scissors, but filing makes them more smooth and even. 
If you have brittle nails, ragged cuticle, or hangnails, 
rub in vaseline every night after you have washed your 
hands before going to bed. See how soon your cuticle 
will become smooth and your nails shiny. 

Sometimes children get the nervous habit of biting 
their nails as fast as they grow. The fingers roll up 
over the bitten edges, becoming stubby and ugly in 
shape. Not only is the shape of the nails spoiled and 
the fingers made clumsy, but small sharp bits of nail 
are carried into the throat. You can see how dangerous 
that is, for these sharp bits are likely to stick into the 
soft tissues there, carrying dirt with them. 

It is not hard to break this habit once you have made 
up your mind that you will do it. Putting some bitter 
paste on the nails may help to remind you. It is, how¬ 
ever, chiefly a matter for your wise “captain,” the 
mind, to watch and control. Keep your hands away 
from your mouth at all times. As soon as a nail grows 
out, file it off smoothly so that you won’t be tempted 
to bite it because it is rough. Get your classmates and 
family to help you by reminding you when you put 
your fingers into your mouth. 

Make an inspection of your class to see how many 
have the nail-biting habit. Work out some plan for 
showing how fast they improve. Some will have every 
nail grown out at the end of two or three weeks. See 
how long it will take to get a class where no one bites 
finger nails. 


KEEPING CLEAN 


119 


Your hands tell a great deal about yourself and 
your daily habits. Hands that are very clean, with 
nails white and smooth, tell of boys and girls who are 
neat and careful in other habits as well. Unwashed 
hands, those with rough and dirty nails, tell quite a 
different story. 

Your hair, too, tells something about you. Laziness is 
the only excuse for a dirty, untidy head of hair. If you 
give yourself a good shampoo once in two weeks, it will 
help to make your hair bright and glossy. Using your 
comb and brush every day takes out dust and dirt, too. 
Massaging the scalp by brisk brushing or rubbing im¬ 
proves the circulation in the scalp and helps to keep the 
hair in good condition. Girls, find some way to ar¬ 
range your hair neatly so that it is becoming. Take 
pride in having a well-dressed head of hair, for it adds 
greatly to your good looks and general appearance. It 
is important, of course, to have your own comb and 
brush and to keep them clean. 

Each person in the family should have his own towel 
and washcloth and keep them always in the same place 
so that they are used by no one except himself. A per¬ 
son of clean habits likes to have his own linen, and the 
use of individual towels helps to avoid the spread of 
skin disease from one person to another. Paper towels 
are best in public places where it is impossible to supply 
individual towels. In most families fresh towels and 
washcloths cannot be supplied every day. You can 
keep your washcloth clean by washing it out every time 


120 


HEALTH 


you use it. Your towel will be kept clean if you are 
careful to wash your skin thoroughly before you use 
the towel. 

The neatness of your clothing makes a difference in 
your appearance. What things do you notice most 
quickly about the clothing of other boys and girls? 
See how many rules you can make for care of clothing. 
Do not neglect to make one about clean underwear and 
stockings, for the clothing which comes next to your 
skin becomes soiled with perspiration and needs to be 
changed oftener than your outside clothes. 

Among the many things you do for the cleanliness 
and comfort of your body, please give a little attention 
every day to your good servant, the nose. A great 
deal of dirt from the air is caught on the hairs which 
line the nose and on the mucous membranes. Clean 
your nose carefully the first thing in the morning and 
the last thing at night by blowing it gently. If your 
nose is very dry, or for any reason does not clean easily, 
perhaps the nurse or doctor can suggest some treat¬ 
ment that will help you. 

Remember that the proper way to breathe is through 
the nose and not through the mouth. The nose cleans 
the air and warms and moistens it before it goes into 
the lungs. If you cannot breathe through your nose, 
ask the nurse or doctor to find out what the trouble is. 
When you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose 
with your handkerchief. This is a polite thing to do, 
and it prevents the scattering of droplets. 


KEEPING CLEAN 


121 


Many classes have inspections every morning for 
cleanliness of hands, face, neck, ears, teeth, and for 
neatness of clothing and hair. Could you pass such a 
thorough inspection? Ask yourself every day these 
questions which are hung on the walls of a New York 
school: 

Am I ready for school today ? 

Is my face clean? 

Is my neck clean? 

Are my ears clean ? 

Is my hair combed ? 

Did I brush my teeth ? 

Are my finger nails clean? 

Do I wear a necktie ? 

Are my shoes blackened ? 

Look and see! Look and see ! 


Questions to Answer 

1. What are two reasons for keeping the skin clean ? 

2. What are pores? 

3. What is the use of perspiration ? Why does it need to be 
washed off the skin ? 

4. What ways are there to take a bath if you do not have a 
bathtub ? 

5. Why should the hands be washed before meals? 

6. Look at your nails and see whether they are clean and 
evenly shaped. Why is it important to care for the nails 
properly ? 

7. Discuss the reasons why a child should not bite or pick 
his nails. What things may help to overcome the habit ? 

8. Why is it important to rinse and dry the skin thoroughly ? 


122 


HEALTH 


9. Tell how to care for the skin if it becomes chapped in 
cold weather. 

10. What must be done to keep the hair in good condition ? 

11. Discuss the importance of clean underwear and stockings. 

12. Why should the hands and articles like pens and pencils 
be kept away from the face and the mouth ? 

13. Explain why one should use only his own handkerchief. 

Things to Do 

1. Bring into class the various articles which are useful m 
caring for skin, nails, and hair, and arrange them in an 
attractive exhibit. You may include part or all of the 
following: soap in an individual soap dish, washcloth, 
face towel (linen or cotton), hand brush, bath brush, 
nail file, orange-wood stick, hand lotion, comb, and 
hair brush. 

2. Write a paragraph on the effect of cleanliness upon at¬ 
tractiveness and success. 

3. Add to your scrapbook a page showing the articles needed 
in making a complete daily toilet. 

4. Give a demonstration of the proper way to blow the nose. 

5. Add to your morning inspection any new rules you have 
learned from studying this chapter. 

6. Choose some girl to give a demonstration of what she 
would look for in the appearance and cleanliness of her 
first-grade sister if she were responsible for getting her 
off to school some morning. 


XVI 


HOW DO YOU CARRY YOURSELF? 

In France when people meet on the street, instead 
of saying, “How do you do?” or “How are you?” they 
say, “How do you carry yourself?” Do you ever look 
at older boys and girls when you meet them to see 
how they carry themselves? If you do, you have 
seen some who were strong, erect, and graceful in 
their walk, and whom you would like to resemble or 
imitate. Others walk in a slouching, awkward man¬ 
ner, and you hope you will never .grow to look like 
them. Perhaps after you finish this chapter, you will 
think the manner of carrying the body so important 
that you, too, will say, “How do you carry yourself?” 
when you meet each other. 

The story is told of a British officer who called one 
day at the office of a well-known doctor. During the 
conversation the officer said, “As I came in just now, 
I noticed the man who tends your outside door. When 
did he serve in the British army?” The doctor looked 
up with surprise and said, “Why, I do not believe he 
ever did. So far as I know, he has always lived in this 
country. He has been a door tender in this building 
for many years.” But the officer was not so easily con¬ 
vinced. “I would stake any amount of money,” he 
replied, “that this fellow once served in our army. Give 
us a man in training for a few years, and he will ac- 

123 


124 


HEALTH 



quire a habit of posture that is never mistaken by an 
officer. Do you mind if I question the man on my way 
out?” “Not at all,” said the doctor, “but I am sure 
you are mistaken.” On the way out of the building, 
the officer stopped suddenly beside the man at the door, 
and in crisp, military fashion said, “When did you 
serve in the British army?” The man, taken wholly 
by surprise, clicked his heels together with a brisk 
salute, and answered, “In the Boer War, sir!” 

Many years had passed since this door tender of the 
big office building was a soldier. How, then, did the 
officer recognize him? Because in his years of training 



HOW DO YOU CARRY YOURSELF? 125 

he had developed a habit of sturdy, upright posture 
which was a natural result of drilling in the army. 
Why had he not lost it during all those years ? Because 
his muscles had been so well trained, that good posture 
had become a habit which could not be broken. You 
are training your framework in some habit of posture. 
Is it good or bad? 

You must know it is worth while to pay attention 
to the way you stand and sit, because of the importance 
of personal appearance if for no other reason. When 
you see our soldiers and sailors on parade, or in the 
moving picture, don’t you admire them? Everybody 
does, I think, chiefly because they look so straight and 
strong, and we are proud to think they are our own 
boys! 

Can you imagine soldiers and sailors respecting an 
officer who has poor posture? A boy who has a good 
strong posture has an advantage over one who slouches 
and stoops. A girl who has a strong, graceful carriage 
is more attractive than one who has a prettier face but 
lacks the beauty of good posture. Artists have always 
seen that good posture is beautiful, and you will find 
in many pictures the finest examples of how to stand 
and sit. 

Posture has an even greater importance than that of 
making you look better. During the War, many men 
who went overseas were not able to stand the strain of 
the work placed upon them, and yet the one thing 
wrong with them was that they did not use their 


126 


HEALTH 


bodies in good posture. Because their bodies were not 
trained to work like good machines, they were wasting 
energy every day. These men were sent to a special 
camp where they were trained to use their bodies cor¬ 
rectly and to carry themselves in good posture. The 
result was that after a few months, most of them were 
able to return to their own companies and take up the 
hard work of army life successfully. 

The difficulties in posture come about because man 
walks and sits in the upright position. If he went 
around on all four limbs like the cat or dog, he prob¬ 
ably would have no trouble with body movements. But 
because he prefers to walk on his “hind legs,” he has 
to learn the proper way to support his body in that 
position. 

Inside your ribs is a big box-like cavity, which holds 
the lungs and the heart. It is separated from the big 
abdominal cavity below by a strong wall of muscle, 
called the diaphragm. The abdominal cavity contains 
the abdominal organs: the stomach, intestines, liver, 
and several other organs. 

These organs are supported or held in place by being 
wrapped in an apron-like fold which is attached at 
the back of the cavity and they are also held in place 
by the big muscle which makes up the front wall of the 
abdomen. It is very important that these muscles 
should be kept strong. If they become weak, or if 
the back curves in too much at the waistline, the result 
is a “stick-out stomach,” which you have all seen. 


HOW DO YOU CARRY YOURSELF? 


127 



When this happens, it means that some of your or¬ 
gans are not in the proper place and therefore cannot 
do their work well. Some organs are pressed and 
crowded, the circulation of blood is hindered, and there 
is a nervous strain upon the system. Sometimes there 
is also indigestion and headache, because the digestive 
organs are not having the right support for the big 
work they have to do. To sit and stand well at all times 
affects digestion so much that perhaps we really should 
have included it in our rules for good digestion. 

Have you any idea how to get this good posture 
which is so important to personal appearance and 
health? Some of you throw your shoulders back, or 
stick out your chest, but that is not good posture. Did 
you ever pile blocks one on top of the other to see how 
high you could make the pile without having the whole 








128 


HEALTH 



thing topple over ? That is what you must learn to do 
with your body—place your framework in a straight 
line, one part supporting the other just as the blocks do. 

Do not worry about your shoulders. Remember 
that the trunk, the part which is built about the back¬ 
bone and the ribs, is most important. The arms are 
just hung on. Take care of the trunk, and the shoul¬ 
ders will take care of themselves. It will surely make 
you have bad posture if you merely practice “shoul¬ 
ders back.” It makes you look like a little 
bantam rooster, all puffed up and strutting! Don’t 
be a bantam! 

Let us try sitting first. Lean forward as though 
you were going to take a position for penmanship. 
Put your feet down comfortably on the floor. Keep 
your hips well back in the chair. Sit tall, stretch up 








HOW DO YOU CARRY YOURSELF? 129 

with your head as much as you can without making 
the strain too hard. Pull your chin in like a soldier. 
Get your chest high, but do not throw your shoulders 
back. Pull your abdomen in. Keep your back flat. If 
you have taken your position in the correct way, you 
should be able to find the “easy spot” in which you get 
the perfect balance of your body, like the balance of 
your tower of blocks. After you get this position, and 
have trained yourself for a while, you will be able to 
sit this way for a long, long time without tiring. 
Would it not make a world of difference in the build¬ 
ing of your framework and the health of your body 
if you trained yourself to sit well during school hours? 

Sometimes when you are reading or reciting, you 
can lean against the back of the chair. Be sure that 
your hips are pushed well back, and that your 
chair is of the right height to allow your feet to 
touch the floor. Now, without losing the good 
posture of head, chest, and abdomen, sway your 
whole trunk back from the hips until you rest 
against the back of the chair. Make yourself 
comfortable, but be sure of these points: Head 
up! Chin in! Chest high! Abdomen flat! Of course 
your teacher will have to help you in this because you 
cannot see yourself to tell whether you are in the right 
position. 

Then there is the opposite kind of sitting, where 
you need to lean forward. You may need to do this 
always for writing and for studying on your desk. 


130 


HEALTH 


Do not be a bullfrog and carry round shoulders on 
your back all the rest of your life! Start again from 
the correct upright position. Then sway your whole 
trunk forward from the hips until you are in a position 
to work easily. Remember always the magic signs, 
Head up! Chin in! Chest high! Abdomen flat! 


Questions to Answer 

1. What two reasons can you give for the importance of 
having good posture ? 

2. Describe what happens to the abdominal organs when the 
abdomen sags forward. How may this affect the health ? 

3. Why does the body tire less quickly with good posture ? 

4 . What are the points of good standing posture? Demon¬ 
strate, and let your classmates judge whether it is good. 

5. Why is it bad to throw the shoulders too far back ? 

6 . What are the points of good sitting posture? Demon¬ 
strate, and let the class judge. 

7. Tell the story of the British officer from this chapter. 

Things to Do 

1 . Form the habit of taking good posture at the beginning of 
each lesson. See how soon you find your posture im¬ 
proving. 

2. With the help of your teacher, select in each row a pupil 
who sits well. Let this pupil occasionally act as a cap¬ 
tain during a reading or writing lesson to rate the pupils 
in his row Good, Fair, Poor, or Very Poor in posture. 
Change captains often. 

3. Bring in pictures which show good posture and put them 
in your scrapbook. 


XVII 


SHAPING YOUR SHIP 

There are many things you can do to help each other 
in shaping the framework of your bodies. It is not 
easy to sit and stand well all the time, especially if you 
have already formed bad habits of “bullfrog” back, 
“stick-out” stomach, and hollowed-in chest. 

On your classroom walls you can hang posters and 
charts which will remind you of your own appearance, 
and which will help you to understand what good pos¬ 
ture is. Perhaps the best “sitter” in each row may act 
as teacher and reminder for his row during periods 
of written work or study. 

Another thing to help you in this search for good 
posture is a chair and desk of the right size and height. 
Your feet must touch the floor. Your desk should be 
low enough so that you don’t have to hunch up your 
shoulders when you write, and high enough so that 
you do not have to bend over double in order to be 
near it. This makes it easier for you to sit well. 
When you sit in big chairs at home, be sure that you 
really rest and relax, and not merely slump down in 
a position that strains your body and gets you into 
bad habits. 

It will be a great help to you if you have two or 
three times a day in class to practice good sitting pos¬ 
ture for a few minutes. After a while you should find 


HEALTH 


132 



Good Fair Poor Very poor 


What is your rating in posture ? 

it easier to sit well than to sit poorly. If you try hard 
all the time to train yourself, and still find that you 
cannot hold a good position without becoming very 
tired, something is wrong. Perhaps your position is 
not really correct, and your classmates or teacher can 
tell you what is wrong. Perhaps you are the tall, thin 
type, or perhaps you are not very strong and well. In 
either case, you can help yourself by taking a rest 
















SHAPING YOUR SHIP 


133 


period flat on your back every day for twenty minutes 
or half an hour. 

Teachers sometimes arrange for some children to 
take brief rest periods during school time, when they 
begin to feel tired from holding the sitting position. 
Can you find a comfortable way to relax with your 
head on your arms and your arms forward on the desk, 
or by sliding away down in your chair and resting your 
head on the back of it? Relaxing at a regular time 
each day, and having more sleep at night, will do won¬ 
ders toward improving your posture. 

The next question is how to stand. First of all, have 
you a good foundation to stand upon—are your feet 
correctly placed? Put them a little way apart, and let 
the toes point straight ahead, or nearly so. It is no 
longer stylish to put heels together and toes apart, be¬ 
cause “toes straight ahead” is the natural way and 
gives a better base to stand on. When your feet are in 
position, see how well you can balance your whole 
body like the column of blocks. Never forget for a 
minute that the trunk is the important part, and that 
the backbone is the bone which holds the key to good 
posture. Stand tall, stretch up with your head, as 
though a rope from the ceiling were pulling it up. Chin 
in and horizontal. Chest high, but let the shoulders 
hang in a natural way. Abdomen flat, pull in hard at 
the waistline. Now, without losing all those points, 
sway forward from your ankles as though you were 
all one big wooden piece. Find the “easy spot” for 


134 


HEALTH 


If you would have the proper shape 
And learn to stand up tall, —- 
Chest out, head up and body straight, — 
Get flat against the wall. 


standing. That is, find the place where your body bal¬ 
ances easily, where you do not have to pull and work 
hard with all your muscles to hold it. Usually you can 
find it by getting the weight of the body a little for¬ 
ward on the balls of the feet. 

When you have taken all the directions for head, 
chin, chest, abdomen, and weight forward, the back¬ 
bone should be as straight as you can make it. Here 
is a way to test. Find a flat place on the wall, against 
a door casing or some such place, where there is room 
enough for you to stand. Stand back to the wall with 
your heels about four or five inches away. Then flatten 
your back against the wall all the way from your hips 
to your head. Hold this position for a minute or 






SHAPING YOUR SHIP 


135 


longer. Pull hard with your abdominal muscles and 
your back muscles. See if you can flatten out that 
curve in your back at the waistline. Perhaps you 
cannot do it at first, but train yourself to do it. 
This exercise of flattening your back gets your whole 
body in splendid posture. You are standing tall, chin 
in, chest high, abdomen flat, back straight. This is 
one of the very best exercises to practice every day. 

Your standing position should be comfortable and 
attractive in appearance. Sometimes boys and girls 
hold their breath, and stiffen up all their muscles, try¬ 
ing to get into good posture. If you watch some one 
else do it, you see at once that it isn’t good posture at 
all, neither beautiful nor comfortable. Until you find 
the position where you can stand and sit with only a 
little effort, you have not found good posture. Of 
course you cannot get the habit of a good standing and 
sitting position all at once, because your muscles have 
not been trained to it. Some of them will have to be 
stretched; some will have to be strengthened. Good 
posture is something to practice all the time, not some¬ 
thing to put away most of the time and bring out only 
on special occasions. You must work patiently and 
train yourself day by day until it becomes a habit. 

If you go to a gymnasium regularly, or if you have 
good setting-up exercises in school daily, you are for¬ 
tunate; for this is the best way to train those lazy 
muscles of the back, chest, and abdomen. Remember 
this: you have not learned good posture unless your 


136 


HEALTH 


body has learned to practice it. Your examination in 
good posture says, “Show me how you stand and sit 
at work and at play/’ rather than, “Explain on paper 
what we mean by good posture.” Can you pass the 
test? 

Good posture helps us to have more respect for 
ourselves and to have more confidence in our work. 
Teachers say that when a boy begins to stand better, 
he begins to do better work in school. He surely looks 
smarter, too! A young naval officer who has a son 
about your age has an unusual way of punishing him. 
When the boy has done something very wrong, he is 
brought to his father, who stands in the well-known 
posture of the Navy. The boy has to salute and stand 
“At Attention!” while his father talks to him as though 
he were a grown-up man who had disobeyed orders. 
He is so ashamed of his behavior when he stands like 
a man of the Navy that this form of punishment does 
not need to happen very often. To stand like a man 
helps you to think and act like one. 

Are you in the race for good posture? Get the sig¬ 
nals: Stand tall! Chin in! Chest high! Abdomen 
flat! Weight forward on the balls of your feet! Back 
straight! 

Questions to Answer 

1. How can you tell whether a chair and desk are of the 
right height? 

2. How can you put the body into good posture by standing 
against the wall ? Demonstrate. 


SHAPING YOUR SHIP 


137 


3. How do rest periods help one to improve posture ? 

4. How does exercise help posture? 

Things to Do 

1. Continue good posture practice with captains as suggested 
at the end of the last chapter. 

2. Try standing every day with your back to the wall as 
described in this chapter. 

3. If you have a posture manikin, place it in position to show 
poor posture and change it to illustrate good posture. 

4. Make posters to show the attractiveness of good posture. 

5. Practice walking erect and carrying a beanbag on your 
head. Play a walking relay race by rows. A child who 
walks in poor posture or drops the beanbag puts his team 
out of the race. 

6 . With the help of your teacher, physical education director, 
or nurse, grade each pupil of your class in posture ac¬ 
cording to the standards shown in this chapter. Plan 
to be graded again before school closes to see how many 
have improved. 


XVIII 


THE CARE OF THE FEET 

Did you ever notice how well Nature has adapted the 
bodies of animals to their ways of living? Take the 
matter of feet, for example. The duck and the hen 
are rather closely related, and yet the duck has a 
strong, webbed foot for swimming in the water, while 
the hen has an ordinary claw-like foot suited only for 
standing or scratching. 

You know that the foot of a cat differs from that 
of a horse, and perhaps you can tell the advantages 
of each kind of foot. Probably you have watched 
monkeys at the Zoo and noticed how they use their 
feet. Which has a better foot, the monkey or you? 
The monkey doubtless would prefer his own, because 
yours cannot climb and perch on trees as his foot can. 
But you surely would not be satisfied with the monkey’s 
foot, although there may be times when you would 
like to borrow it for a little while. 

Nature has adapted man’s foot, too, for the things 
he wants to do. We walk, run, jump, and dance. In 
all these activities we differ from the other animals 
because we stand up straight on two feet instead of 
going on “all fours.” The horse could not stand up 
on two legs all the time, because his foot has no way 
of bracing itself. Your foot is built so as to brace in 
138 


THE CARE OF THE FEET 


139 


two directions. If you sway forward, the front of 
your foot braces and holds you from falling. If you 
sway backward, the brace comes at the heel and saves 
you from tipping over. 

During the last war, a great many men could not 
become soldiers because of foot troubles, especially be¬ 
cause of flat foot. In factories and other places of busi¬ 
ness, many men and women are not able to do work 
they like because of weak feet. You may know people 
who suffer from corns and calluses, or from aching 
feet. 

Let us find out what the foot is like and why these 
troubles arise. ? The foot is made very much like the 
hand. It has many small bones attached to each other, 
which are held in place by strong cords or ligaments 
and by many small muscles. Every movement of the 
foot, like every movement of the hand, is made by use 
of these muscles. 

You know that the American Indian had great en¬ 
durance, and was able to travel on foot for many 
hours, over long distances, walking either barefoot 
or in light, leather moccasins. He had a strong foot 
because he lived in the open, walking and running 
every day, using his foot in the easy, natural way. He 
stood and walked with toes pointing straight ahead. 
The white man was more civilized and farther away 
from Nature. He wore heavy, stiff shoes with heels. 
He often did not give his foot the vigorous exercise 
of the Indian’s. As a result, his foot became weaker 


140 


HEALTH 


and often did not travel in the straight-ahead fashion 
of the strong Indian foot. 

When you stand with the foot in its natural position, 
that is, with the toes pointing straight ahead, a large 
share of the weight of the body comes on the outside 
of the foot, which is better suited to bear it. When the 
toes are turned out, too much weight falls on the in¬ 
side of the arch, which is not suited by Nature to bear 
the load. Are you giving your foot a fair chance? You 
can have a good pair of feet as long as you live if you 
let them work as Nature intended. The first rule is: 
Stand and walk with toes straight ahead. 

The next rule is: Exercise the muscles of your feet. 
You know that the boy who has strong arms is the 
boy who uses them a lot in work and play. I once 
knew a boy who broke his arm. It was put up in a 
sling for a long while and the joint got stiff. When 
the splints were taken off, he found he had partly lost 
the use of his arm, simply because he had not been 
using it. The joint had become stiff and the muscles 
weak. Sometimes people who are sick in bed for a 
long time have to learn to walk all over again. The 
muscles of the foot, like other muscles of the body, 
become weak if they are not used. 

Playing, running, walking, dancing all strengthen 
these muscles. People who most commonly have 
foot troubles are those who stand at their work 
without walking or moving about—bakers, chefs, ma¬ 
chinists, laundry workers, and others. They put a 


THE CARE OF THE FEET 


141 


severe strain on their feet in carrying the weight of 
the body all day, without giving the muscles of their 
feet any vigorous exercise. There is more likely to 
be trouble if the feet are bound up in tight shoes so 
that the muscles are cramped. 

The third rule is: Wear the proper kind of shoe. 
You have heard how the Chinese girls used to have 
their feet bound up to make them very small. This is 
no longer done, of course, but even now many people 
harm their feet by wearing tight shoes. Shoes that 
are too small injure the feet in many ways. To illus¬ 
trate this, grasp your left hand as hard as you can 
with your right. See how the joints of the left hand 
slide over upon each other. If you squeeze too hard, it 
hurts. When your feet are crowded into tight shoes, 
the joints are pushed together and the bones crowded 
out of their proper place so that the foot becomes de¬ 
formed. 

This deformity may cause serious trouble, but there 
are sure to be other troubles, too, because the muscles 
have no chance to exercise. Even in walking or 
dancing, the foot moves as in a vise. The muscles lose 
their strength because they are not used. They become 
unable to support the foot, and such troubles as weak 
arches and flatfoot result. Not all foot troubles arise 
from tight shoes, for there are other causes. How¬ 
ever, the person who wears shoes that are too 
small is sure to have weak feet. Keep the framework 


142 


HEALTH 


of your foot in natural shape and give the muscles a 
chance to exercise. 

There is no reason for trying to wear a shoe which 
is too small. So many different styles can be bought, 
and shoes are so well made that a girl may wear a 
number seven without appearing to have an unusu¬ 
ally large foot. As a matter of fact, many of the girls 
who take prizes for the prettiest feet at the Shoe Style 
Show wear sevens. Choose a shoe which is suited 
to your foot, and have a foot which is well shaped. 

Probably your mother will not let you spoil your 
feet now with improper shoes; but when you are 
older you may be tempted to try to make your feet 
“look pretty” by wearing such shoes. The girl who 
tries to get a “pretty” foot in this way usually loses 
in the end. She deforms her foot, gets corns and cal¬ 
luses, and is in danger of more serious foot troubles. 
She may come to the point of having to wear the ugli¬ 
est kind of shoes in order to have any foot comfort at 
all. On the other hand, the girl who sticks to a shoe 
that is sensible and large enough is able to play tennis, 
dance, or do whatever she pleases with a good-looking 
foot that has not been spoiled by foolish styles. 

One doesn’t have to give up style in order to be 
sensible in the care of the feet. Every good shoe store 
carries shoes which are beautiful and yet sensible. 
The athletic girl of to-day is proud of a strong, shapely 
foot rather than a small, weak, deformed one. 

There are certain important requirements for a 


THE CARE OF THE FEET 


143 



sensible shoe. First of all, it should be large enough 
to give play to the muscles of the foot. The line on 
the inside of the foot running through the great toe 
and the center of the heel should be straight, or nearly 
so. If you notice the bare feet of babies and small 
children, you will see that this straight line is natural. 
Why do so many grown people have a line that turns 
off at the joint of the big toe? 

The next requirement is a low heel. Some people 
need a heel higher than others, but it should never be 
so high as to throw the foot entirely out of position, 
with the weight of the body forced forward on the 
toes. It should always be broad enough to give a good 
support. The edge of the heel at the back should be 
in direct line with the back of the shoe or nearly so ; 
that is, it should not be set in under the shoe, as a 
French heel is. 










144 


HEALTH 


Some shoe dealer in your town will be glad to talk 
with you about shoes, and to lend models which can 
be examined and discussed in class. Get from him 
samples of shoes worn by people having foot troubles 
or by people who stand a great deal. Get samples of 
shoes which are sensible and yet rather stylish and 
dressy. You may like to bring in also some of the 
narrow, French heel shoes which you sometimes see 
on the street. These should never be worn for walk¬ 
ing and working. For occasional use at parties and 
dances they may not be harmful. The girl who wears 
them on the street, or standing at work all day, is sure 
to regret it when the mischief is done. 

Sometime at home, try the muscles of your foot 
to see if they can do some tricks. Can you pick up a 
marble with your toes ? Can you pick up a pencil, hold 
it in your toes, and write your name? These tricks 
are great fun, and they are fine exercises for weak 
muscles. 

The fourth rule in caring for the feet is: Take off 
rubbers, or rubber boots, whenever you come indoors. 
No air can go through your rubbers. The foot is just 
as hot and uncomfortable when you wear them in the 
house or school as the body would be if you had on a 
big rubber coat. Wearing them indoors makes the 
feet very tender. The feet chill easily and chilblains 
may develop. 

Occasionally people have trouble with ingrowing 


THE CARE OF THE FEET 


145 



toenails. This often develops because the nails have 
not been cut straight across, as they should be. The 
nails should be kept short and clean. The feet need to 
be washed regularly and the stockings changed often. 
These things not only make one more comfortable but 
are also important in helping to keep the feet healthy. 


Questions to Answer 

1. How are the feet of animals adapted to their ways of 
living ? How is man’s foot adapted to his use ? 

2. What is the structure of the foot? 

3. There,are four rules for caring for the feet given in this 
chapter. Tell what they are. 

4. How does exercise help the feet ? 


146 


HEALTH 


5. Which is the greater strain on the feet—walking a long 
time or standing a long time ? Why ? 

6. Why are correct shoes important ? What is the effect of 
constantly wearing tight shoes ? 

7. Describe a good shoe. 

8. Do you know people who complain about tired feet? 
What kind of shoes do they wear ? 

9. Can you judge whether people have good feet when you 
see them walking on the street or elsewhere ? How ? 

10. What is the chief cause of weak feet ? 

Things to Do 

1. Illustrate in your scrapbook the health rules for taking 
proper care of your feet. 

2. Ask a shoe dealer to lend you some good shoe samples. 
Make an exhibit in class and discuss the shoes. 

3. Try at home some of the foot tricks suggested in this 
chapter. Report your success in class. 

4. Demonstrate the proper way to walk. 

5. Bring in pictures or samples of shoes from other coun¬ 
tries. Discuss their good and their poor points. 


XIX 


YOUR MIND AND NERVOUS SYSTEM 

If you were going to choose the captain for a ship, 
you would choose a man who understood the ship and 
who would be sure to take good care of it. If the cap¬ 
tain were ignorant and careless, your ship would be 
in great danger even if it were the finest boat afloat. 
Many a splendid craft has been wrecked by a careless 
captain. Your mind is the captain of your human ship. 
Many a human ship is wrecked or injured, too, because 
the captain does not understand his ship or does not 
think it worth while to care for it. Do you remember 
the story of Ted and Jack? (Chapter II.) Which boy 
had a wise captain in his pilot house? 

The brain is the center of the nervous system. It is 
the place where the captain lives. How well the brain 
is protected by the bones of the head! From the brain 
nerves run to all parts of the body like so many tele¬ 
phone cables. You will remember (Chapter V) that 
the nervous system is like a telephone system with the 
“central office” in the brain. 

Some boys and girls have better nervous systems 
than others. As a matter of fact, your quickness of ac¬ 
tion depends quite as much upon your nervous system 
as upon your muscles. When you practice baseball or 
practice on the piano, you are training your nerves as 
well as your muscles. 


147 


HEALTH 


148 

A famous baseball player was tested for strength 
and quickness. It was found that he could drive out 
home runs, not merely because he was able to hit the 
ball with unusual force, but also because his eyes were 
unusually quick. His* nerves and muscles worked so 
well that his bat could get to the right spot at the right 
instant to meet the ball and knock it away across the 
field. Any boy who plays baseball knows that a cool 
head and steady nerves count for much more on the 
baseball field than mere strength of muscle. 

There are many things which have a strong influ¬ 
ence upon your nervous system. Is there sometimes 
a day when you are slow of mind and uncertain in 
your work ? Can you think what makes you so ? Some¬ 
times it is because you have not had enough sleep. 
Sometimes it is because of too much excitement. Some¬ 
times if is the effect of drinking tea or coffee. Some¬ 
times it is because Mr. Stomach is having a hard time 
with too much or the wrong kind of f ood. You see, when 
Mr. Stomach.is not feeling well, he keeps sending up 
messages to the mind that he is in trouble. 

When people do not have regular bowel habits, the 
poisonous substances which should have been gotten 
rid of irritate the nerves. People who do not have good 
habits, good digestion, regular bowel habits, and plenty 
of exercise find it difficult to keep a good disposition. 

Did you ever hear children or grown-ups say they 
are “nervous”? Why should people be nervous? Your 
nerves were made to use. You should be proud that 


YOUR MIND AND NERVOUS SYSTEM 149 

you can use them, quickly, constantly, and happily. 
Some people used to think it was fashionable to be 
nervous. But the folks who had to live with them did 
not think so! Make it fashionable in your class to be 
clear-minded, happy, and cheerful all day long! Do 
not make the dreadful mistake of giving away to your 
temper. Do not be disagreeable to other people and 
make the excuse that you are “nervous.” 

The mind and nervous system are affected also by 
the use of alcohol and tobacco. When a person has 
drunk quite a bit uf alcohol, part of his mind goes to 
sleep, so that he doesn’t really know what he is doing. 
Very likely he thinks that he is more clever than he 
was before he drank the alcohol, but he really is not. 
Students have been tested with problems to see 
whether they do as good work when under the influ¬ 
ence of alcohol as they do when they have not been 
drinking. In one such case, many of the students 
thought they had done better after drinking. How¬ 
ever, the examination of their papers showed that 
their work was smaller in amount and less accurate. 
Tests of this kind make us realize that alcohol hinders 
the mind in doing its work. It also affects the whole 
nervous system. As a result, people who use alcohol 
constantly, or who use much tobacco, are often irritable 
and “nervous.” 

Of course sometimes people have sickness or trouble 
which makes them truly nervous. If you are sick, see 
a doctor and overcome your nervousness as soon as 


150 


HEALTH 


you can. But do not let your mind, by behaving badly, 
injure your health and happiness, and call that 
“nervousness.” 

It is possible to train your mind the right way. The 
mind may become tired from working too long or not 
having enough play and rest, but it does not suffer 
from working too hard. Can you put your mind com¬ 
pletely on the thing you are doing? Many boys and 
girls never get ahead in school or in later life just 
because they cannot concentrate. Their minds wan¬ 
der constantly while they pretend ter be working. Such 
dreaming becomes a habit. It never helps you to earn 
more money, do better work, or be more useful. 

On the other hand, concentration becomes a habit, 
too. Practice keeping your mind completely upon what 
you are doing. The habit of mind you will acquire in 
this way will make your hours of study shorter and 
your school work easier. 

No part of your body gets into bad habits more 
quickly than the mind—habits of peevishness, bad 
temper, selfishness, or fault-finding. There is one kind 
of boy who always thinks everybody is picking on him. 
He is never a good sport about anything. There is the 
girl who never thinks about any one but herself. If 
she is not chosen for the best position in the game, she 
will not play. There are also boys and girls who com¬ 
plain about weather, report cards, the things they have 
to eat, or the time they have to go to bed. Sometimes 
people do wrong and then lie about it or blame the 


YOUR MIND AND NERVOUS SYSTEM 151 

trouble on some one else. Don’t you wish such folks 
had a mind to do differently? 

There is the other kind of person, too. Do you know 
some one who is always right there to say, ‘Til do it!” 
if there is something hard or unpleasant to be done? 
Do you always smile and play just as hard even if you 
are not chosen captain for the game? Do you try to 
like the foods you ought to eat and to do the things 
that are part of your work every day without com¬ 
plaining ? All these little habits of mind may be hard 
to acquire, but few things brings so much happiness to 
ourselves or to others. People who are busy with their 
work and have a happy, helpful spirit toward others, 
do not have a chance to be selfish. You will find the 
unhappy ones among the boys and girls who think 
constantly of themselves or shirk their work. They 
usually think that all the world is against them! It is 
not hard to guess which sort of boy or girl has the 
most friends and gets on most easily in the world, is it? 

Of course we cannot fool ourselves when we get into 
bad habits of mind. But sometimes we think we fool 
other people by putting on a pleasant face and our 
very best manners. We may for a little while, but it 
does not last long. You can tell the difference between 
the boy who has nothing but polite company manners 
and the boy who really likes to be kind to people and 
make them happy. Which is true politeness ? 

Have you ever noticed that people show in their 
faces what they think and do? This is because the 


152 


HEALTH 


Hurrah for the child that is 
happy, 

With a smile along the way. 
For a cheerful disposition 
Will help you every day! 



nervous system affects the tiny muscles of the face 
and changes the expression. You smile, you frown, 
or pout by means of these face muscles. If you want 
a pleasant face, you must take care of your habits of 
thinking. Day by day, very quietly but very surely, 
your thoughts and feelings are being written in your 
face through the work of the “telephone system’’ and 
the tiny muscles. 

There are other ways in which the mind affects 
the body. Do you remember the story in Chapter XII, 
showing how worry and unhappiness interfere with 
digestion? No wonder the body has trouble to do its 
work when the mind is all the time sending out mes- 


YOUR MIND AND NERVOUS SYSTEM 153 

sages saying, “Something is wrong, something is 
wrong.” A discontented mind keeps the body “keyed 
up” for a fight all the time, and the poor old body can¬ 
not get any peace or rest at all. For the sake of your 
health, as well as your happiness, you cannot afford 
to let your mind get into bad habits. 

The following story is told of a poultryman in Kan¬ 
sas who owns very valuable hens, one of which he 
claims to be worth $ 10 , 000 . Long experience has 
taught him that he must take good care of his hens if 
he wants to get the best results. He feeds them on 
special foods, gives them drinking water at regular 
times, and supplies them with airy, clean houses. But, 
after all, he finds that there is one condition which 
will keep the hens from doing their best. “A discon¬ 
tented hen will not lay eggs,” he says. “When I see a 
man go into the yard and yell loudly at the hens and 
wave his arms, I say to that man, ‘You call at the 
office, get your pay, and go/ But when I see a man 
go into the yard, call gently to the hens, so that they 
gather around him clucking and eating out of his 
hand, I raise that man’s pay.” You see, even a hen 
cannot do very well unless she is cheerful and 
contented. 

The condition of the body affects the mind. Take 
care of your body! The condition of the mind affects 
the body. Be cheerful! 


154 


HEALTH 


Questions to Answer 

1. Can you tell why the nervous system is like a telephone 
system ? 

2. What health habits have a marked effect upon the nervous 
system ? 

3. How do alcohol and tobacco affect the nervous system? 

4. How does the condition of the nervous system affect you 
in work ? In play ? 

5. What sort of “disposition” do you like in other people? 

6. Can the mind be trained to good habits ? Give an example. 

Things to Do 

1. Have a committee from the class visit your local tele¬ 
phone exchange and see how all the wires for carrying 
messages connect with the central office, and let them re¬ 
port to the class about their visit. Discuss the comparison 
between the telephone system and the nervous system. 

2. Tell the story from this chapter which illustrates the fact 
that cheerfulness and contentment are important for the 
health of the body. 

3. Add to your scrapbook a picture which illustrates the at¬ 
tractiveness of cheerfulness. 

4. Write a short story or a paragraph about some animal you 
know, telling how he shows when he is contented and 
when he is unhappy, and what usually causes each con¬ 
dition. 

5. Insert words to complete the following sentences: 
Sometimes the mind is slow when one has not had enough 

A person who is _ is not well liked. 

Habits of mind show in the-A-person is 

liked by others. The condition of the mind affects the 
_. The condition of the body affects the- 








XX 


TEA AND COFFEE 

If you had been using horses to haul loads all the 
forenoon, and wanted to work them in the afternoon, 
too, would you give them a whipping at noontime in¬ 
stead of hay and grain? A whipping would excite them 
so much that they would not show signs of being tired 
and might even forget they were hungry. A horse 
wouldn’t last long, however, if he were given a whip¬ 
ping every day instead of dinner. Although a driver 
sometimes uses a whip to urge his horse on, he knows 
it is not a substitute for the good care which makes 
the animal willing to work without whipping. Tea and 
coffee are “whips” for the nervous system. They can¬ 
not take the place of the food and rest your body needs. 
Let us find out why! 

Tea and coffee do not contain in themselves any 
growth or energy foods. They are stimulants. That 
is, they contain substances which find their way to the 
nervous system, and tone it up to a high pitch so that a 
person is easily excited. You might say, perhaps, that 
the nerves are all aquiver. Every message coming 
through eyes, ears, or other parts of the body is sent 
around over the telephone system with utmost speed. 

There are other kinds of stimulants, too, Bright 
light is one. Sunlight wakes you up in the morning if 
it shines in your eyes. It is difficult for you to sleep in 
155 


156 


HEALTH 


a light room. Exciting music is a pleasing stimulant 
which keeps you wide awake. On the other hand, a 
loud, rasping, grating, or squeaking noise is an un¬ 
pleasant stimulant which sets your nerves on edge. 

The other morning John’s mother said at breakfast, 
“I didn’t close my eyes to sleep until half-past three 
this morning. I might have known I wouldn t sleep 
after drinking that cup of strong coffee late in the 
evening.” You see the stimulant in the coffee had kept 
her awake just as a very bright light or a continual 
noise would have done. 

Perhaps you say, “Why, mother never lets me have 
tea or coffee.” Well, that is very lucky for you! How¬ 
ever, there may be some girls or boys in your class 
who do drink tea and coffee. Perhaps when weighing 
day comes Judge Scales says they have not gained, 
for here is the way things happen when a boy depends 
on tea and coffee instead of food. 

Tom gets up late. He is tired and cross. He does 
not want much breakfast, and thinks a cup of coffee 
and a cracker or piece of toast will do. There is not 
much good fuel and building material in that break¬ 
fast, is there? He feels all right for a little while after 
he has had his coffee, though, because it whips his 
nervous system and spurs him on. 

Before noon he is very hungry, of course, because 
he did not have enough breakfast. He eats some lunch, 
but instead of drinking milk he whips himself on with 
a cup of tea. At supper it is the same story. Tea or 


TEA AND COFFEE 


157 



coffee takes the place of the milk he ought to drink, 
and all day long he has not had enough food to make 
him grow as fast as boys of his age should. Then he 
does not feel like going to sleep because he has taken 
too much stimulant. You can see the result, can’t 
you? Tom does not get enough to eat and neither 
does he get enough rest. He becomes thin, tired, and 
fretful. He is nervous and does poor work at school. 

There are lazy old horses who seem not at all 
troubled by a few taps from a whip. But have you 
ever seen a colt just being broken to the harness or 
saddle? He is so spirited that it is hard to keep him 
quiet enough to be taught and trained. You boys and 
girls are like the colt. Your nervous system is very 

















158 


HEALTH 


sensitive and active. You do not need a stimulant; it 
injures you. One of your health rules in caring for 
the nervous system is to drink no tea and coffee. It is 
different with grown-up people. Some seem to suffer 
as quickly as children do from the use of tea and coffee. 
Most grown-ups, however, use a moderate amount and 
do not mind it. They may be like the old slow horse— 
a little whipping does not disturb them! 

A strong nervous system is a good servant to one 
who possesses it. You often hear about an act of 
bravery performed by some one with steady nerves 
who did not become excited, but remained calm in the 
face of danger. Don’t you like the old story of 
William Tell? Imagine how breathlessly the people 
watched as he prepared to shoot the apple from his 
son’s head. William Tell was a famous marksman, and 
to shoot with exact aim was not a new trick for his 
muscles and nerves. But think of the dreadful fear 
in his mind as he saw his own son in danger! Tell’s 
courage and coolness were wonderful, and the son was 
equally brave. 

If you are drinking tea and coffee every day, you 
are doing harm to your nervous system, even though 
you may not feel it now. A bad habit is hard to break, 
and you will not find it easy to stop. But there is a 
chance to show whether or not you are capable of a 
man-sized job! Any one can do what is easy. Not 
ever}^ one can do the thing which is hard. Once you 
have made up your mind to stop drinking tea and 


TEA AND COFFEE 


159 



coffee, the battle is half won. Making up your mind 
takes courage, and sticking to it takes more! Remem¬ 
ber every successful effort makes the next time just 
that much easier. 

Milk or cocoa is what you need, for that gives real 
nourishment. In fact, one of the worst things about 
drinking tea and coffee is that it keeps children from 
drinking milk. Some children find cocoa hard to 
digest; but if it is made mostly from milk and not too 
strong with cocoa, it is a fine drink, especially for cold 
weather. 

See what you can do to encourage the coffee and 
tea drinkers in your class to give up the habit. You 
might keep some kind of a record for a while, and 
make posters or scrapbook pages to remind every one 


160 


HEALTH 


that the campaign is on. Some classes have had a 
blackboard contest in which the milk bottles chased 
the coffee pot out of the room. How long will it take 
to drive the coffee pot out of your room? Try hard to 
have your class one hundred per cent on the milk-bottle 
side. 

A small leak in a dike may not seem very serious, 
but it is sure to become so unless it is repaired. If the 
habit of drinking tea and coffee is a break in your dike, 
repair it! 


Questions to Answer 

1. How do tea and coffee affect the body? 

2. Are tea and coffee foods ? Give a reason for your answer. 

3. Why is it more harmful for children to use tea and coffee 
than for grown-ups? 

4. What two good substitutes can you think of to use in 
place of tea or coffee as a drink at mealtime? Why 
are they better ? 


Things to Do 

1. Draw an outline of a big milk bottle on the board. Write 
a number inside the milk bottle every morning to show 
how many in the class did not drink tea or coffee on the 
previous day. Use colored chalk every time the record 
is one hundred per cent. 

2. Make some posters to show that milk and cocoa are bet¬ 
ter for children than tea or coffee. 

3. If you have younger brothers or sisters who drink tea 
or coffee, try to encourage them to drink milk or cocoa 
instead. Report your success in class. 


XXI 


HOW REST AND SLEEP MAKE YOU GROW 

The captain of a ship at sea wants to be very alert 
while he is running the ship, but he has time for rest 
each day. Your captain, the brain, must also have a 
regular resting time. The brain rests somewhat when¬ 
ever there is a change of occupation, as when you leave 
study to play at recess. You may feel tired when 
school closes, but after playing half an hour, you for¬ 
get about it. All the time, however, your brain is busy 
and your “telephone system” is carrying messages. 
The only time your mind and nervous system get a 
complete rest is while you sleep. When you are asleep, 
then you are not thinking about anything. 

Your muscles also get complete rest only in sleep. 
Even in sitting, some of them are used to hold the 
body in good posture. When you are lying down, they 
can all relax. The whole body can become limp. Some 
people, however, cannot relax when they first lie down. 
They still hold their muscles tightly, even though it 
is not necessary. Learn to relax completely, for in that 
way your body begins to rest as soon as you lie down. 

Have you ever tried taking a rest period every day? 
This is a good thing even for those boys and girls who 
are in good health and gaining well. It is particularly 
helpful for children who are thin and frail and 
for those who are not gaining well in weight. Lie 

161 


162 


HEALTH 


down flat on your back after dinner, or after school, 
or before supper, whichever time seems best for you. 
Close your eyes and let your whole body be perfectly 
limp, even though you do not go to sleep. Do this 
every day for twenty minutes or half an hour, then 
see how much better you feel, and how well you gain 
in weight. In order to get help from your rest period, 
you must be faithful in taking it every day for a few 
weeks, at least. Sunlight will not help a plant to grow 
very much unless it shines upon the plant nearly every 
day. A little extra rest cannot do much to help you 
grow unless you have it regularly. 

Does any part of the body have to keep on working 
even when you are asleep? “Yes,” you say, “the 
heart.” But you can give it less work to do, and that 
is what happens in sleep. You know the heart has to 
pump blood to all parts of the body. When you are 
lying down, it has to push the blood along on the level; 
but when you are standing or sitting, it has to lift the 
blood straight up. Then, too, when your body is rest¬ 
ing, there is no hurry-up call for extra blood in some 
particular part of the body. If you eat a simple supper 
and take proper care of the digestive system, that will 
be having a rest, too, and the heart will not have to 
supply extra blood for it. 

The work of the heart during sleep is somewhat like 
the work of the fire under the boiler of a big locomo¬ 
tive when it is not moving. The fire must not go out, 
and it must be hot enough for the engine to start at 



HOW REST AND SLEEP MAKE YOU GROW 163 

short notice. Yet it does not have to burn with the 
fierce red heat which is needed when the engine is 
running fast and drawing a heavy load. 

Sleep is so'important that Nature demands it. Men 
who were in service during the war tell stories about 
going a long, long time without sleep, and finally being 
so overcome with weariness that they could sleep any¬ 
where under any conditions. They would crawl into 
a dugout, or into a shell hole, and sleep for hours, even 
when they were in great danger of losing their lives. 
Sleep seemed more precious than life itself. 

During sleep a tired body repairs itself. All parts 
of the body give up the waste substances of the day’s 
work to the blood stream, which gives back in their 
place new material to strengthen each part of the body 
and make it grow. Of course, grown-ups have only to 
repair the body, but children want to grow. That is 
why you need so much more sleep now than you will 
need after you have grown up. 

Some say that the only time you grow is while you 
sleep. No matter how good care you take of yourself 
in every other way, you are sure to lose out in the 
Health Game if you do not have the right amount of 
sleep. It is a child’s best friend; it is truly “Nature’s 
gentle nurse.” 

Not only does sleep show in your health and the 
growth of your body, but it shows also in your school 
work and in your habits of mind. Ask your teacher 
if she knows the boys and girls in the class who never 


164 


HEALTH 



have enough sleep. Very likely you suspect them, too. 
No health habit is so important in helping you to train 
your mind as the habit of having enough sleep. 

Sleep is such a good friend of Cheerfulness, too. 
Have you never noticed how easy it is to be cross when 
you are tired? When you are rested, it is just as easy 
to be cheerful and happy! You must know, too, that 
Sleep and Cheerfulness are partners in business with 
Beauty! The girl who is cross and tired at night looks 
like a different girl in the morning when she is rested 
and rosy from a good night’s sleep. If you want to 










HOW REST AND SLEEP MAKE YOU GROW 165 

take treatment with beauty specialists who are sure to 
improve your looks, spend long hours with Sleep every 
night, and take lessons from Cheerfulness every day! 

Can you remember now all the important benefits 
which come from sleep? 

1. Your mind and nervous system rest. 

2. Your muscles rest. 

3. Your heart does less work. 

4. Your body is repaired. 

5. You grow. 

6. You are able to do better work in school. 

7. You gain in cheerfulness and beauty. 

Do you wonder that the right amount of sleep is so 
important? Grown-up people usually get along very 
well on about eight hours a night. Children need at 
least ten, and more than that if they fail to gain as 
they should. 

How shall we get all these benefits? There are 
several rules. First of all: Go to sleep promptly. If 
you ever have trouble in doing this, one cause may be 
thinking about things after you go to bed. This is a 
bad habit. Break yourself of it by relaxing as soon 
as you go to bed, thinking only how sleepy you are, 
and how soon you will be fast asleep! 

The next rule is: Have a regular bedtime. In order 
to get at least ten hours of sleep every night, you must 
go to bed at eight o’clock or soon after. Bedtime is 
just as important as schooltime. Don’t be late! Once 



166 


HEALTH 


5n a while you may stay up later on Friday or Satur¬ 
day night, when you can make up your sleep the next 
morning. Of course, you cannot really make it up, 
because the body never gets along so well when habits 
are not regular. You will rest more, grow more, and 
do better work if you have a regular time for going 
to bed and stick to it. 

Keep a record of your sleeping habits for a while, 
showing what time you go to bed and get up, or the 
number of hours you sleep. Some boys and girls take 
a calendar for the month, and make a red line through 
every date when they get to bed by eight o’clock. 
Others draw little clocks, letting the position of the 
hands show what time they go to sleep. Perhaps you 
think you do not sit up late very often; but when you 
keep a record for a while, you may be surprised to find 
that your “not very often” happens two or three times 
a week. Then you wonder why you cannot put money 
in the Health Bank when weighing day comes! 

Spend a quiet time before bed. If you spend the 
evening reading or playing quiet games, it gets you 
sleepy and ready for bed. But if you spend the eve¬ 
ning with exciting games, thrilling stories, or at the 
moving pictures, you are likely to stay awake for 
several hours. The first few hours in bed ought to be 
the time for soundest sleep. Do not spoil these early 
hours of the night by having an exciting evening, by 
eating before going to bed, or by drinking tea and 
coffee. 


HOW REST AND SLEEP MAKE YOU GROW 167 



Have a clean bed, with light, warm covering, and a 
low pillow, if any. Heavy covering is likely to make 
you restless, although you need to be warm and com¬ 
fortable. A low pillow is best because it gives your 
framework a chance for good posture while you sleep. 
Lie with your head as low as the shoulders, if you can, 
and your back straight. A low pillow is quite all 
right, however, if you are uncomfortable without one. 
Throw the bedclothes back over the foot of the bed or 
over a chair every morning. The daily airing and clean 
linen once a week will make your bed feel fresh and clean. 



168 


HEALTH 



Open your windows as wide as you can. You spend 
more than one third of your whole life in sleep. Why 
not spend it in the fresh air? Did you ever sleep out¬ 
doors? It’s great fun! The next best thing is to 
open the windows and let the outdoors come in. 

Have you gained well ever since you were first 
weighed this year? If you have not, please prescribe 
for yourself extra large doses of sleep taken every 
night in a dark room with the windows open. Begin 
the dose about eight o’clock, and keep it up until seven 
in the morning if you can. 

One of the most famous living baseball players says 
he always gets an extra hour of sleep every night to 
keep him fit for the game. You have your favorite 





























HOW REST AND SLEEP MAKE YOU GROW 169 

game, though perhaps it is not baseball. If you want 
to play it well and grow at the same time, you cannot 
afford to try it on less than ten hours a night. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What parts of the body have complete rest during sleep? 

2. What part of the body must work even while we are 
asleep ? How does it get its rest ? 

3. Do puppies and kittens sleep more while very small than 
after they are full-grown? 

4. Why do children need more sleep than grown-ups ? 

5. Why does one need more sleep during illness than at 
other times ? 

6. How does sleep affect your mind and ability to work? 
Your disposition? Your looks? 

7. How much sleep does a child of your age need? Figure 
out what time you must go to bed to have the required 
amount. 

8. Why is a regular bedtime important ? 

• 9 . Why is a low pillow or no pillow at all best for sleeping ? 

10. Do you like to have fresh air while you sleep ? Why ? 

11. What does the word “relax” mean? Can you relax 
quickly when you go to bed or take a rest in the daytime ? 

Things to Do 

1. Keep a record of your sleeping habits for the next two 
weeks. Suggestions have already been given in this 
chapter. 

2. Make some posters about sleep. 

3. Make a list of quiet, pleasant games to play in the evening. 

4. Make sentences about your habits of sleep and rest using 
the following words: relax, pillow, exciting games, clock, 
coffee, covering, fresh air. 


170 


HEALTH 


5. Add pages to your scrapbook to illustrate some of these 
six rules for sleep. 

a. Have a regular bedtime. 

b. Spend a quiet time before bed. 

c. Have a clean bed, with light, warm covering and a low 
pillow, if any. 

d. Open your windows as wide as you can. 

e. Learn to go to sleep promptly. 

f. Be sure you get at least ten hours of sleep every night. 


XXII 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 
ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND TOBACCO 

When a boy in high school or college goes out for an 
athletic team, he is reminded at once that he must not 
use alcohol or tobacco. He is told that it will hinder 
his growth, his strength, and his success as an athlete. 
Why do these substances have such a serious effect? 
It is not enough to say that they are harmful. Let us 
find out what they are and how they affect the body. 

Alcohol 

Alcohol is made by yeast plants growing in a liquid 
which contains sugar. The yeast uses the sugar as 
food and gives off two waste substances. One of 
these is carbon dioxide, which is a gas. It rises in 
bubbles to the top of the liquid and escapes into the 
air. The other waste substance is alcohol. 

You probably know that yeast is used to make 
bread. The carbon dioxide makes the bread dough 
rise into a large loaf. Both the carbon dioxide and 
the small amount of alcohol formed are driven off by 
heat as the bread is baked, so that no alcohol is left 
in the bread. 

171 


172 


HEALTH 


But in making alcoholic drinks the yeast is growing 
in a liquid instead of in a spongy substance like dough. 
The alcohol, which is also a liquid, increases until enough 
is present to stop the growth of the yeast. Wine is 
made by growing yeast in the sweet juice of grapes. 
Beer is made by growing yeast in water which has 
soaked out the sugar from sprouting barley seeds. 
Liquors like whiskey and gin contain a very high per 
cent of alcohol. 

Many people have studied the effect of alcohol upon 
the body. They all agree that it is harmful. When a 
person has taken a little alcohol, he seems more lively 
and active than before. We used to think that it was 
because the alcohol had stimulated him. Careful 
studies show, however, that alcohol belongs to a group 
of substances called narcotics. These substances put 
one to sleep. One part of the body after another is 
put to sleep by alcohol. The first is that part of the 
brain which controls the judgment. People are less 
likely to be polite and careful of what they say. They 
talk a lot and perhaps laugh or shout. You see they 
are not really stimulated, but they seem different 
because their judgment is asleep and they are not quite 
themselves. 

After a while, when a person takes a great deal of 
alcohol, the reason is put to sleep. Such a man acts 
quite strangely. He cannot walk very well, and finally 
the whole body is asleep under the poisoning effect of 
the alcohol. So you see alcohol has a serious effect on 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


173 


the nervous system. Studies have shown that even 
when small amounts are taken, the memory is not as 
good and the mind works less quickly and carefully. 
Other parts of the body are injured, too. The muscles 
do less work. The heart works faster, but its beat is 
not as strong. Neither can the body protect itself 
against disease as it should. 

In these and many other ways alcohol injures 
people. Life insurance companies have found in 
their work with thousands of people that those who 
do not use alcohol live longer than those who do. 
Companies who hire large numbers of men know that 
accidents increase greatly when their men are using 
alcohol. Notice how often newspapers report automo¬ 
bile accidents caused by careless drivers who have 
been drinking. How is such a driver punished? The 
accident risk is so much greater when men use alcohol 
that our railroad companies refuse to hire a man who 
drinks. In fact, there can be no doubt about the 
danger of alcohol. Those who want to succeed in 
athletics or do any important work well, must be wise 
enough never to use it. 

Habit-forming Drugs 

We have said alcohol is a narcotic, that is, a kind 
of substance which puts one to sleep. There are other 
drugs, such as opium and morphine, which do this, 
too. People get the habit of using these drugs, as 


174 


HEALTH 


they do alcohol. That is why they are spoken of as 
habit-forming drugs. When one uses them, he keeps 
his nervous system partly asleep and partly poisoned. 
As soon as the effect of the drug wears off, he feels 
so nervous, irritable, and uncomfortable, that he thinks 
he must take more of the drug to quiet his nerves. 

Morphine and opium are perhaps even more harm¬ 
ful than alcohol. People who know their danger are 
very careful not to use them. Sometimes a person 
may get these drugs in patent medicines without 
knowing it. One gets used to taking such a medicine, 
and soon finds that he cannot get along without it. 
The drug has fastened its hold upon him. Headache 
tablets, and other medicines which are sold in pack¬ 
ages, sometimes contain these dangerous drugs. 

Some patent medicines contain a great deal of 
alcohol. Many of them do the patient no good at all, 
but the effect of the alcohol puts the nervous system 
partly to sleep. For a while the man thinks he feels 
better; but after he has taken the medicine for some 
time, he is really worse off than at first. 

Of course there are some simple home remedies 
which can be used when you are sick. It is dangerous, 
however, to buy at the drug store different kinds of 
medicine which you know little or nothing about. 
Many tonics, tuberculosis cures, soothing syrups, and 
headache remedies contain these poisonous drugs. It 
is a good rule never to use patent medicines without 
the advice of a doctor. 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


175 


Tobacco 

Tobacco is a plant, the leaves of which are dried 
and prepared for smoking. It is a native of America, 
and the custom of smoking began with the American 
Indians. Perhaps you remember the story of how it 
was taken up in Europe after the . discovery of 
America. Tobacco contains several poisonous sub¬ 
stances. Probably the most important of these is 
nicotine, which is also a narcotic. 

When a person who is not used to smoking tries it 
for the first time, he shows several signs of discom¬ 
fort. He becomes pale and begins to sweat. He is 
sick at his stomach, perhaps he vomits, and he may 
also feel weak and dizzy. One gradually gets used to 
small doses of tobacco poison, so that he does not feel 
such effects, unless he smokes a great deal at one time. 
But most people who have studied the use of tobacco 
believe there is always some harmful effect. 

Some of our colleges and universities have made 
special studies and have found that men who do not 
use tobacco gain more in weight, height, growth of 
chest and lung capacity, than men who do use it. 
When college men are divided into two groups, those 
who do not use tobacco are found to be better athletes 
and better students than those who do. 

If full-grown men in college show such effects from 
the use of tobacco, think how much more serious the 
habit is for boys twelve or fourteen years old who still 


176 


HEALTH 


have years of growth ahead. Growing boys who use 
tobacco do poor work in school, look white and tired, 
and do not gain in weight as they should. When they 
stop, they very soon improve in their work, look better, 
and grow faster. 

An interesting study was made sometime ago to see 
what effect tobacco would have upon a man’s ability 
to pitch a baseball accurately. When men were given 
several trials in throwing a ball at a target and then 
given a few minutes of rest, their second trials showed 
a gain in accuracy. Of course you would expect them 
to do better at the second trial, because they had some 
practice in the first. When, however, each man 
smoked a cigar between the two trials, they did worse 
the second time. Smoking kept them from doing their 
best. 

It has been clearly shown that tobacco makes the 
heart work faster, makes it more difficult for the mind 
to work well, causes the muscles to relax, and makes 
the vision less accurate and clear. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What is alcohol? 

2. What is meant by saying that alcohol is a “narcotic” ? 

3. What are the effects of alcohol upon the body? 

4. How is alcohol related to accidents ? 

5. What are some other drugs that are narcotics? How do 
persons sometimes take these drugs without knowing it? 

6. What are patent medicines? Discuss their use. 

7. What is the narcotic substance found in tobacco ? 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 177 

8. What has been found to be the effect of tobacco on college 
students ? 

9. Why is tobacco especially bad for growing boys ? 

10. Explain the baseball test described in this chapter. 

11. Why is smoking forbidden for athletes in training ? 

Things to Do 

1. Arrange the words in the following sentences to make 
true statements. 

Heart makes tobacco the faster work. 

Morphine contain some medicines patent. 

Increases alcohol accidents. 

Sleep a narcotic a substance puts which one to is. 

Heart makes alcohol faster beat the. 

Automobile alcohol many causes accidents. 

Injures growing tobacco boys. 


XXIII 


CIRCULATION 

Of course you know that you could not possibly 
live without air, although your body does not use all 
the substances in the air. What the body wants from 
the air is oxygen, the very breath of life. You and I 
cannot very easily look into the air and pick out the 
oxygen from among the other things. It looks all 
alike to us, or it looks just like nothing at all. But 
without our seeing or needing to understand anything 
about it, the body picks out the oxygen as easily as you 
and I pick out all the apples from a basket of mixed 
fruit! 

Now every part of the body must have oxygen, and 
for a large body like that of a man, it is a little hard 
to manage. In some small animals like the earth¬ 
worm, all the air needed can make its way in through 
the skin. In larger animals Nature has had to find 
some other way. The insects, like the flies and the 
bees, have sets of little tubes, somewhat like the wind¬ 
pipes in our throats, running all through the body. 

In your body there is a wonderful carrier system 
similar to the cash carrier systems which you have 
seen in department stores. You remember how the 
clerk puts your money into a little round iron box, and 
then slips it into a tube. Soon the box returns through 
another tube, bringing your change. 

178 


CIRCULATION 


179 



The 


Her 




when 




ght 


The 


wisest child 
in our town 
ndow 
opens wide, 
she goes 
bed at 

outdoor air’s 
inside. 


Your own carrier system is called the circulation. 
It is a system of little tubes, extending through every 
part of your body. Through these little tubes flows the 
blood, and in it there are many little round “boxes” 
or “rafts” made partly of iron. They carry air from 
your lungs to all parts of your body, and bring 
back the “change.” That is, they bring back waste 
substances which the body does not want. 

The red color of the blood is due to the little “cash- 
carrier boxes” or “rafts,” called the red blood cor¬ 
puscles. The liquid part of the blood in which they 
float is a clear, salty fluid. The red blood corpuscles 















180 


HEALTH 



contain iron. In the lungs they take up oxygen from 
the air you breathe. When they come back after a 
trip through the body, they bring the waste from the 







































CIRCULATION 


181 


body, which is carbon dioxide, a gas produced by the 
burning of fuel foods. 

The little red corpuscles change their color some¬ 
what as these exchanges take place. When they are 
loaded with oxygen from the air, they are bright red. 
When they are not so well supplied with oxygen on 
their way back to the lungs, they are darker in color. 
You know how iron rusts and gets a bright reddish 
color if it is left out in the air? That is because the 
iron takes up oxygen. If the iron is protected from 
air and moisture, it is dark in color. That is just the 
way with the little “iron boxes” in the blood. When 
they have a lot of oxygen they are bright red, but 
when they do not have so much, they are darker. 

The blood going away from the heart flows in the 
tubes which we call arteries. On the way back it 
flows in the tubes we call veins. Any of these, either 
arteries or veins, may be spoken of as blood vessels. 
Just under the skin on the inside of the wrist and fore¬ 
arm you can see the dark blood in the veins. It looks 
blue, doesn't it? 

There are other things flowing in the blood fluid 
beside these little rafts or red blood corpuscles. The 
most interesting are the “soldiers” or “fighters” for 
the body, called the white blood corpuscles. They are 
rather independent, and go all over the body helping 
to repair any damage which has been done. Some of 
them can really devour any tiny thing which gets into 
the body and ought not to be there. Others seem to 


182 


HEALTH 


produce substances which the body needs in time of 
sickness or accident. These little soldiers always flock 
to a place where the body has been cut, or injured, to 
clear away the parts of skin and muscle which cannot 
be repaired and to help heal the wound. 

Doctors have noticed that people who use alcohol 
constantly cannot throw off disease as well as others. 
One reason for this is because alcohol poisons the body 
in such a way that these little “fighters” cannot work 
as they should. Insurance companies know this, too, 
and they consider that a drinking man is not a “good 
risk.” 

In order to give oxygen to every part of your body, 
you must have a good circulation, with a strong pump 
to push the blood through the arteries. This pump is 
the heart, and it never stops as long as you live. Most 
machines stop to rest, but the heart gets its rest only 
between beats. 

We might study the way in which the heart works 
by means of a rubber bulb such as is used with an 
atomizer or spray. One of you may have such a bulb 
at home which you can bring for the class to study. 
When it is pressed together with the hand, the air is 
forced out of the tube at the end. If you look at the 
opening on the other end of the bulb, you will see that 
it is closed by a little piece of rubber, or metal, on the 
inside, which is called a valve. When the hand is 
removed, the air rushes in at this end because the 
valve is free to go toward the inside of the bulb. But 


CIRCULATION 


183 


when the hand squeezes it again, and the valve is 
pushed toward the outside, it covers the hole. Then 
the air cannot come out of the bulb through that 
opening, but must escape through the tube. 

The heart works in the same way except that it has 
its own muscles. It has four of these bulb-like cham¬ 
bers instead of one. Each chamber is fitted with 
valves at the entrance and exit which allow the blood 
to flow in only one direction. 

The regular pumping, or beating, of your heart 
makes the pulse you can feel at the wrist. You can 
count the number of heartbeats per minute by means 
of the pulse. See how steady, strong, and regular is 
the action of the heart. Try the pulse of some one else 
and see if it feels about the same as yours. 

A good heart is one of the most valuable possessions 
your body can have. An athlete particularly needs a 
good heart. Before very strenuous events like mara¬ 
thon runs, or football games, each man's heart is ex¬ 
amined to see if it has endurance enough to stand the 
strain. A strong heart is of great importance in many 
kinds of sickness. Often a doctor says that a man will 
get well if his heart holds out. 

The heart is often seriously injured by the use of 
alcohol and tobacco. Under the influence of alcohol, 
the heart beats faster, but with less force. Even a very 
good heart cannot stand this treatment constantly. 

The heart is really made of muscle, which, like any 
other muscle, gets strong by exercise. Put your hand 


184 


HEALTH 


over your heart sometime after you have been running 
or playing. You will find that it is beating fast and 
hard. That is because your muscles have been work¬ 
ing and calling for more of the breath of life! This 
extra work strengthens the heart just as vigorous 
work or play makes other parts of the body strong, 
and it is an important reason for having some good, 
active exercise every day. 

As we have seen, the heart pushes the blood into the 
arteries. If you could follow the course of an artery, 
you would find that it is quite large as it leaves the 
heart, but the farther away it gets, the smaller it be¬ 
comes. Finally it branches out again and again into 
smaller blood vessels, until it becomes a network of 
tubes so small that only one row of the red blood cor¬ 
puscles can pass through at a time. And yet, you re¬ 
member, the red blood corpuscles are so small that they 
can be seen only with the microscope. In these narrow 
tubes, called capillaries, the little red rafts are unloaded. 
In the capillaries of the lungs the carbon dioxide is given 
off, and oxygen, the breath of life, is taken on. In the 
capillaries of other parts of the body, oxygen is un¬ 
loaded and the carbon dioxide is taken on. 

On the way back the blood is moved along through 
the veins by the suction of the heart and the body 
movements. When you feel the pulse in your wrist, 
you have your fingers over the main artery for your 
hand, where the blood is being pumped away from the 
heart. If you feel of a vein, you find no throbbing 


CIRCULATION 


185 


there because the blood is flowing quietly back to the 
heart and is not being pumped along. In any move¬ 
ment or exercise of the body the veins get a continual 
rubbing and pressure from the muscles around them, 
which help carry the blood back to the heart. 

You know that pumps get out of order. So does 
the heart. Sometimes after sickness, the heart has 
had such a hard struggle that it is not in very good 
condition and needs repair. The wonderful thing 
about it is that this automatic pump can often mend 
itself. In order to give it a good chance for repair, 
one must be careful not to run, climb stairs, or do 
anything which will ask too much of it. Surely, 
if you know any child with a weak heart, you will 
help him to have a good time without rough play, 
just as you would want him to be thoughtful of you 
if you were trying to give your heart a chance to mend 
itself. 

What things can you do to get the best work from 
your circulation ? Exercise every day in the open air. 
Give your body the materials for building good red 
blood by drinking plenty of water and eating foods 
rich in building material and iron. (What are they?) 
Spend ten hours out of every twenty-four in sleep with 
your windows open, and give your heart the extra rest 
which it gets while you are sleeping. If your heart 
should ever need to be “laid up for repairs/' be cheerful 
and sensible in doing only the things which your doctor 
says you may. 


186 


HEALTH 


Questions to Answer 

1. What does the body take from the air? 

2. How is oxygen carried to all parts of the body ? What is 
the carrier system called ? 

3. What do the red corpuscles carry from the lungs to the 
body? What do they bring back to the lungs? How 
does this waste substance escape from the body ? 

4. What mineral substance is contained in the red corpuscles ? 
Where does the body get this substance ? 

5. What are the tubes which carry blood from the heart, 
and what are the ones which carry it to the heart ? 

6. What do the white blood corpuscles do for the body? 
How does alcohol affect them ? 

7. What is the pulse ? Where is it usually taken ? 

8. How is the heart strengthened ? 

9. What is the difference between the way the blood moves in 
the arteries and the way it moves in the veins ? 

10. What things can you do to keep your circulatory system 
in good condition? 

Things to Do 

1. Have some one bring in an atomizer and study how the 
valve in the bulb opens and shuts when it is squeezed and 
released. 

2. Complete the following statements: 

Certain foods and vegetables supply _ for good 

red blood. The heart is a_which sends the- 

to' all parts of the body. The _ blood corpuscles 

carry_ from the lungs to all parts of the _. 

Exercise makes you_deeply and makes the- 

beat faster. The _may be injured by the use of 

_and_. 













XXIV 


EXERCISE 

WORK AND PLAY 

No matter how beautifully a ship is built, it is of no 
value except as it is used by man for service or 
pleasure. The real value of having a good body is in 
being able to use it for work and play. 

If a ship had been in dry dock for a long time with¬ 
out being used, the owners would hesitate to depend 
upon it to make a long voyage immediately. If an 
automobile had been in storage for some time, you 
would not trust it to take a long trip. In the same 
way, the human body cannot be depended upon to do 
the vigorous things of life unless it is constantly in 
use. That means having real exercise every day. 

The track athlete who is practicing for a race does 
not rest for a week before the race. He keeps him¬ 
self in training. A person who competes in any kind 
of games must keep up practice constantly. The chief 
object of exercise, however, is not to get one ready 
for some athletic test, but to keep the body fit for the 
ordinary work and play of everyday life. Exercise 
is one of Nature’s ways of keeping the body in trim. 

Kittens and puppies spend most of their waking 
hours in play. Even full-grown animals show the 
natural desire for exercise. Did you ever see a dog 
run as though his life depended upon getting to a cer- 
187 


188 


HEALTH 


tain point in a given time? Suddenly he turns and 
runs back. He is not going anywhere in particular. 
But he feels that he must run. 

Have you watched caged animals at the Zoo? Even 
years in close captivity cannot wholly curb their long¬ 
ing for exercise and freedom. The wild creature satis¬ 
fies his craving somewhat by stretching, twisting, and 
turning, or by pushing against the bars of his cage 
and pacing up and down. In this way he keeps him¬ 
self in good physical condition for years. 

The love of exercise is found not alone in animals. 
It is found also in man. Watch a baby, and see how 
he spends most of his time reaching and stretching to 
play with fingers, toes, or anything else that comes 
within reach of his chubby hands. Before you began 
school, you spent most of your waking hours in play. 
You still spend a great deal of time every day playing, 
and it is right that you should. You like to be out of 
doors in the fresh air and sunshine. It makes you 
happy and helps to keep you well and strong. Would 
you like to understand some of the reasons why? 

Boys know that exercise trains the muscles. The 
boy who can run fast, climb quickly, swim well, or 
make a home run, is the boy with well-trained muscles. 
A good muscular system is indeed a thing to be proud 
of, not merely because it enables you to do certain 
stunts, but because it helps you in everyday living. 
A well-built man has a better chance of doing the 
day’s work without getting overtired. He has energy 


EXERCISE 


189 



enough not only to do his work, but to play and enjoy 
life as well. 

Theodore Roosevelt once said that he believed more 
good in athletics came to the men who were not top men 
in any sport, who were never better than second-rate, 
but who were strengthened in every way by the 
training. In speaking of college men whom he had 
known, he said, “Nothing has impressed me more 
than the fact that on the average the men who have 
counted most have been those who had sound bodies.” 


190 


HEALTH 


Exercise strengthens the heart as well as the mus¬ 
cles. When you are playing or working hard, your 
blood circulates more rapidly. You feel warm, and 
your face gets flushed. The heart is working faster. 
If a person lives so quietly that the heart never has 
to speed up, he cannot be sure that it will be able to 
meet any sudden strain put upon it in some time of 
need. A famous race horse was spoken of by his 
trainer as having the “heart of a great racer.” The 
heart plays a great part in making a sturdy, vigorous 
body, and the best way to train it is by plenty of 
exercise every day. It is not enough to avoid things 
which injure the heart like harmful drugs, alcohol and 
tobacco. 

Exercise makes you breathe deeply, too, so that your 
lungs expand and are filled with the good fresh air. 
In ordinary breathing, fresh air does not fill every 
part of your lungs. The practice of deep breathing 
every day helps to develop your chest and keep your 
lungs healthy. It also stimulates circulation. 

The circulatory system is the carrier system which 
takes air and food to all parts of the body and brings 
away the wastes. Think what happens, then, when 
the circulation is increased during exercise. You 
breathe faster, your blood flows more rapidly, and your 
body gets more air. Waste material , is carried away 
through the blood and through the pores of the skin. 

Do you ever notice how hungry you are after play¬ 
ing out of doors ? Another splendid benefit of exercise 


EXERCISE 


191 


is that it increases the appetite and helps digestion. 
People who do hard physical work rarely have trouble 
with indigestion. Daily exercise helps them to make 
good use of their food. Digestive troubles more com¬ 
monly occur among people employed in positions 
where they get very little exercise during the day’s 
work. Such people should use a part of their time 
every day for vigorous outdoor exercise. 

After you have been sitting most of the day in 
school, what is more jolly than to go outdoors and 
play! It is one of the easiest health habits to keep, 
isn’t it ? Talk over some of the games you play, and see 
which are the favorites. In nearly every country of 
the world boys and girls play various kinds of running 
games, hide-and-seek games, and tag games. Then 
there are special sports for the different seasons, too. 
If you live where winters are cold, you have skating, 
coasting, snowshoeing, and skiing. Swimming and 
baseball come in summer, and football in the fall. Do 
you enjoy them all ? 

You get exercise not only through play but through 
work as well. Gardening, chopping wood, and doing 
errands are good for you. Girls who help with house¬ 
work get a great variety of exercise through stretching, 
twisting, bending, and walking. 

Regular setting-up exercises are valuable, too. Some 
day when you are grown up and very busy, you may 
find it hard to keep your muscles in trim except as you 
train them in setting-up exercises at home or in the gym- 


192 


HEALTH 



nasium. It is possible, however, to keep yourself in 
good condition in this way, just as the caged animal 
does by his movements within the cage. If, in addition 
to your setting-up drill, you take an hour’s walk in the 
open air every day, you can give your body all the 
exercise it needs, though you will miss the fun that 
comes from games and play. 

Games have other value besides the actual exercise 
you get. You may learn many things from them. 
First of all, you learn obedience. A boy who does not 
play according to rule, and abide by the referee’s deci¬ 
sion, loses in the end. He may even be taken out of 
the game. 

You learn team spirit. That is, you become willing 
to sacrifice your own pleasure for the sake of your 
























EXERCISE 


193 


team. A baseball player who thinks only of showing- 
off his ability will never be the best man on the team. 
The important thing is not that he should make a 
clever hit, but that his team should win. 

You learn fair play. People who want to cheat and 
do mean things cannot last long in games. They are 
found out and punished. If they do not mend their 
ways, they are put out of the game. A good athlete 
is more proud of playing a clean, fair game than he 
is of winning. 

You learn to work hard—to put all the strength and 
skill you can into the game. You are ashamed to do 
less than your best when the honor of your team is 
at stake. 

Think for a minute of your own spirit in games. 
Do you obey without complaining or being grouchy? 
Are you willing to do things that are hard in order that 
the team may win ? Do you take pride in playing fair ? 
Do you always do your best ? Learn these valuable 
lessons well, for they will help to make you happy and 
useful your whole life long. 

Here, then, are the benefits of exercise. It trains 
the muscles; it strengthens the heart; it increases the 
circulation, gives the body more air, and carries away 
body wastes; it improves the appetite and helps diges¬ 
tion; and through games it teaches obedience, team 
spirit, fair play, and hard work. 

Another benefit from outdoor play is that which 
comes from being in the sunshine. Sunlight helps the 


194 


HEALTH 


bones to grow straight and strong. It helps people to 
keep well. If you have a chance to play outdoors in a 
bathing suit in summer, you can get a good coat of tan 
by exposing your skin a short time at first, and then 
increasing the exposure as the tan develops. Sunburn 
is harmful, and should be avoided. 

Is it any wonder that children who spend some hours 
daily in outdoor play grow fast, are happy, and do 
good work? 

Questions to Answer 

1. Give some illustrations of the ways in which animals 
exercise. 

2. How do babies exercise their muscles ? 

3. What kind of outdoor play do you like best? How many 
hours a day do you play outdoors ? 

4. Explain the effect of exercise upon the heart. 

5. How does exercise improve the circulation? 

6. What is the effect of exercise upon the appetite and di¬ 
gestion ? 

7 . In what other ways do you get exercise besides in play ? 

8. How does.sunlight benefit the body? 

Things to Do 

1. List on the board all the effects of exercise that have been 
mentioned in this chapter. 

2. Keep a record of the number of hours you spend in ex¬ 
ercise, both at work and play, each day for two weeks. 

3. Make some posters showing your favorite outdoor sports. 

4. Make statements about exercise, using the following 
words: caged animal, training, hungry, circulates, waste 
material, exposing, vigorous, fair play, housework, 
gardening. 


XXV 


HOW YOUR BODY KEEPS THE SAME 
TEMPERATURE 

The temperature of your body is always just the 
same, no matter whether the weather is hot or cold. 
That is why the doctor uses his thermometer when 
you are sick. When you are well, your temperature 
is ninety-eight and six tenths degrees. If he finds it 
higher than that, it is a sure sign that something is 
wrong. 

The body keeps the same temperature all the time, 
because it balances the heat it produces and the heat 
it gives off. It is always burning up food and pro¬ 
ducing heat. It is also continually giving off heat. 
It can produce heat faster when it needs to, or give 
off heat faster when it becomes too warm. Let us 
see how this happens. 

The heat of your body is given off chiefly through 
the skin. When you are cold, your skin is tight and 
shows “goose flesh.” The blood is driven farther away 
from the surface, it is cooled less rapidly, and your 
body gives off as little heat as possible. When you 
get chilly, you must dance around to keep warm or 
else you will shiver. In either case, your muscles 
begin work, burn up fuel, and produce more heat. It 
is not very pleasant to shiver, so you usually prefer 
warming up by exercise, or by putting on more 

clothes to hold the heat in. 

195 


196 


HEALTH 


When you are warm, the skin is loose and soft. It 
is so well supplied with blood that heat is given off 
rapidly. If you get too warm, you begin to sweat, 
and more body heat is used in evaporating the mois¬ 
ture from your skin. You wear less clothing, too, in 
warm weather or in a warm room, so that heat may 
be given off freely. You feel less like exercising 
because your body is warm already, and the extra heat 
produced by exercise makes you uncomfortable. 

You can see from this why you feel differently in 
different kinds of weather. In summer, when it is 
warm, you feel tired and lazy. You do not care to 
work or play, but enjoy lying still and doing nothing. 
When you go out of doors in winter, the cold air 
makes you feel lively. You want to run and play. 

You are affected in the same way by the air in a 
room. If it is too warm, you do not feel like work. 
The pores of your skin are open and you begin to 
perspire. If a room is too cold, you are uncomfort¬ 
able, too. You must get up and move around, or put 
on more clothes. It is perhaps easier to get comfort¬ 
able again after you have been a little chilly than after 
you have been too warm. Moreover, you are not so 
likely to get chilled when you go out of doors from a 
cool room. You see, in stepping from a hot room into 
cold, winter weather, the body has been giving off heat 
so fast that it cannot stop quickly enough to save you 
from losing too much. 

This tells you why it is better to keep a school or 


HOW YOUR BODY KEEPS THE SAME TEMPERATURE 197 



house cool enough in cold weather. If you have very 
hot rooms, you are always in danger of being chilled 
and catching cold when you go out into the winter air. 
If you do not get used to hot rooms, you are more 
comfortable, too, both indoors and out. If the body 


























198 


HEALTH 


is not kept too warm while you are in the house, you 
get more enjoyment from cold weather. 

You feel more like working, too, if your room tem¬ 
perature is kept at sixty-five to sixty-eight degrees. 
You should never let it go above the higher figure, 
and you will probably find the lower temperatures 
more comfortable. See that your room is kept within 
these limits all the time. It will help you to do better 
work in school and to keep free from colds. Some 
pupil may act as a thermometer inspector and record 
the temperature four times a day on the blackboard. 

You will feel better, too, if you can have some fresh 
air coming into the room all the time. It is partly this 
effect of fresh air moving over the surface of the skin 
which makes you feel better when you sleep with open 
windows or when you sleep out of doors. If your 
school heating system will permit, keep a window 
partly open all the time. Be sure, of course, that no 
one sits in a draft. 

We keep our bodies warm in winter, not only by 
heating our houses, but also by wearing the proper 
kind of clothes. It is possible to make yourself un¬ 
comfortably warm and lazy with too many clothes, 
just as with too much heat. Heavy woolen underwear 
makes the body perspire indoors. It may become wet 
with perspiration, so that when you go outdoors the 
wet garment feels chilly. Woolen underwear is all 
right for people who spend much of the day outdoors. 
Those who are inside most of the time should wear 


HOW YOUR BODY KEEPS THE SAME TEMPERATURE 199 

light underwear and put on extra clothes when going 
out. Extra wraps should also be used when one is 
warm after exercise. 

Wear only enough clothing indoors to make you 
comfortable. Some boys and girls wear heavy sweat¬ 
ers in the classroom or put sleeveless sweaters over 
their blouses and dresses. It is harder for them to do 
their best work in school, and they are more likely to 
catch cold than the other boys and girls who dress 
lightly. Try to plan your clothing so that you need not 
wear too much in the classroom, and have extra wraps 
to put on when you go out. 

Use the right kind of clothes for stormy weather— 
rubbers, rubber boots, raincoats, umbrellas, and wraps 
—to keep yourself dry and warm. Proper wraps out 
of doors will keep your indoor clothing dry, so that you 
will not run the risk of getting chilled by sitting indoors 
with wet clothing. If you get caught in the rain and 
come in with wet feet or damp clothing, what should 
you do ? 

Do not be afraid to play out of doors in cold weather 
if you are dressed properly. Exercise in the cold air 
makes your body burn more food and gives you a good 
appetite. It makes your whole body more alive. Prob¬ 
ably it even makes you grow faster. 

Make friends with cold water, too. Splashing it 
over your face, throat, and chest every morning wakes 
you up and makes you feel better. It also tightens your 
skin, which helps to keep you from feeling chilly on a 


200 


HEALTH 



The water’s cold, but I am bold 
And put it on with glee. 

It’s lots of fun when it 


is done, 


It gives me pep, you 
see. 


wintry morning. Another way to improve the circula¬ 
tion in the skin is to have a dry rub all over with a 
rough towel. 

Sometimes people have thought that alcoholic drinks 
help to keep them warm in cold weather. Alcohol 
makes them feel warm at first, because it makes the 
heart beat faster and dilates all of the surface blood 
vessels so that more blood flows into the skin. But 
that is not Nature’s way of saving heat. Indeed, it is 
her way of giving off heat. So the real effect of drink¬ 
ing alcohol in cold weather is to allow the body to 
give off more heat than it would have given off other¬ 
wise. 

Try to practice in daily living these rules which 
help your body to regulate its temperature so that you 
may enjoy all kinds of weather without catching cold 
so easily. 








HOW YOUR BODY KEEPS THE SAME TEMPERATURE 201 

1. Keep the temperature of your rooms at home and at 
school between sixty-five and sixty-eight. 

2. Have some fresh air coming in all the time if you can. 

3. Wear light clothes indoors. 

4. Put on extra clothes when you go outdoors in cold weather. 

5. Dress so as to be warm and dry in stormy weather. 

6. Play outdoors all the year round. 

7. Use cold water on your face, throat, and chest in the 
morning. 

8. Have your windows open at night. 

. You may like to keep a record in your class to see 
if any of you can go through the winter without a cold. 
Do not be too discouraged if you catch cold when you 
think you have been taking the best possible care of 
yourself. “Cold-in-the-head” is a rascal, and some¬ 
times he catches us in spite of all we can do. Perhaps 
he would have treated you much worse, if you had not 
been on your guard. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What is the normal temperature of the body? Under 
what conditions does the body temperature go above or 
below this point? 

2. How does the body keep the same temperature in spite of 
changes in hot or cold weather ? 

3. How do you feel in warm weather ? Why ? 

4. How does cold weather affect you? 

5. What is the proper room temperature? What reasons 
can you give for keeping the room temperature at the 
right point? 

6. Why do you feel better when there is fresh air coming 
constantly into the room ? 


202 


HEALTH 


7. What kind of clothing should be worn indoors? Out¬ 
doors ? 

8. What benefits come from a cold splash or bath in the 
morning ? 

9. Does drinking alcohol help to keep one warm ? Explain 
what happens. 

Things to Do 

1. List on the board the rules that help you regulate the 
body temperature and prevent you from catching cold. 

2. Appoint some one to keep a chart showing the temperature 
of your classroom during the day. Record temperature 
once an hour. Discuss with your teacher how to regulate 
the temperature when it becomes too high or too low. 

3. Keep a class record for the next month showing how many 
days are “missed” by boys and girls sick with colds. At 
the end of the month list on the board the names of all 
those who have not had a cold. 

4. Include in your inspection every morning the removal of 
rubbers, overshoes, rubber boots, and heavy sweaters or 
coats. 

5. Complete the following sentences : 

_water in the morning _you up and helps to 

_ you against colds. The proper temperature for 

a room is from_to_degrees. If rooms are 

too _, you are more likely to feel _ out of 

doors. When the body is very warm, you begin to_ 

Perspiration helps to_the body. Put on a_ 

when you are warm after __, so that you will not 

catch_. 














XXVI 


EYES AND EARS 

Did you ever look up at the pilot house of a ship and 
wish that you could be there, looking out ahead with 
the pilot? A pilot house would be of little use to a 
ship if it had no windows. In the pilot-house of your 
human ship are very important windows, too. What 
do you call them? 

Think what precious windows the eyes are! With¬ 
out them you could not do most of the things you 
enjoy. If anything happens to them, you can never 
replace them as you could the windows in the pilot 
house of the ship. Surely they deserve the best of 
care. 

Your eye is much like a camera. It really takes a 
picture of whatever is in front of it. When a picture 
is made at the back of the eye, you call it “seeing.” 
Perhaps some one will bring a camera into class so that 
you can look at the different parts to see how they 
work. 

The diagram on page 204 may also be helpful. 
Each part of the eye is numbered exactly the same as 
the corresponding part in the camera. In studying 
the diagrams, look for the same number in each pic¬ 
ture and see how the two parts are alike. 

After using a camera to take pictures of distant 
objects, you must change the focus if you want to take 

203 


204 


HEALTH 



The eye is like a camera. The numbered arrows point to five 
parts of the eye that are like five parts of the camera. 

pictures of the things near by. Number one in the 
diagram of the camera shows the device by which the 
lens is focused. The same number in the diagram of 
the eye shows the little muscle by which the focusing 
of the eye is done. Your eye is planned so that it takes 
pictures of things at a distance without using the 
focusing muscle. When you want to look at some¬ 
thing very near, however, as in reading, writing, or 
sewing, this muscle changes the shape of the lens so as 
to focus your eye on the thing you want to see. 

Number two shows the lens in the camera and the 
one in the eye. They are very much alike in shape. 
They collect the rays of light which make the picture 















EYES AND EARS 


205 


at the back of the camera or the eye. Of course the 
lens in the eye is not made of glass, as is the lens of the 
camera, but it is? just as transparent. 

Number three in the diagram of the camera shows 
the film or plate on which the picture is taken. In the 
eye it is the retina, a dark, sensitive place at the back 
of the eyeball. This is the place where you really 
“see.” 

Number four is the hollow part of the camera and 
the eye. In the camera it is just a boxful of air, but 
the round space in the eye is filled with a clear liquid. 

Number five is the diaphragm in the camera which 
opens and closes to let in more or less light, as you 
wish. The iris of the eye does the same thing without 
your thinking about it. 

Try this experiment which will show you how the 
eye changes its focus. Stand near a window which 
has a screen and look out across the street. Notice 
that when you look directly at the screen, you cannot 
see clearly what is outside the window. On the other 
hand, when you look through at some object on the 
other side, you do not see the screen clearly. That is, 
your eye cannot focus at the same time on the screen, 
which is near, and on an object outside, which is 
distant. 

Remember that the focusing of your eyes is accom¬ 
plished *by tiny muscles. Like other muscles, it is good 
for them to have exercise, but they should not be over¬ 
worked. When people read or do close work too con- 


206 


HEALTH 


stantly, they tire their eyes. One way to rest the eyes 
when doing close work is to close them for a few min¬ 
utes or to look away at some distant object. Which is 
better for you—to sit down and read after school, or to 
go outdoors and play ? Why ? 

The eye changes its focus so easily that sometimes, 
without thinking about it, you keep moving nearer and 
nearer to your writing or reading. By getting so close, • 
you put a hard strain on the muscles of your eyes. Your 
work should be about fifteen inches away from your 
eyes. Measure this on a string and see if you usually 
have such a distance between your work and your eyes. 
If not, try to improve your habits of reading and writ¬ 
ing so that you may save yourself the needless strain. 

Of course, if anything is wrong with the eye, it does 
not focus well. If you had a camera with a lens not 
properly made, or a box which was not built right, you 
would be always trying to focus it and yet be unable to 
get a good picture. If something is wrong with the 
eye, its muscles get tired trying to focus, and still one 
cannot see well. In such a case, the eyes need to be 
treated or fitted with glasses. If neglected, they will 
become very tired, and may ache so much as to make 
one quite uncomfortable. 

The diaphragm of the camera, which controls the 
amount of light, is another part which must be care¬ 
fully adjusted. When the light is very bright, the 
diaphragm is nearly closed. When there is only a 
little light, it is wide open. . 


EYES AND EARS 


207 


In the eye this work is done by a muscle called the 
iris, which is the pretty colored part. In the center of 
the iris is a little black spot called the pupil. It is the 
opening through which the light passes, and looks black 
because the inside of the eye has a black, lining. 

The diaphragm in the camera is closed by hand in 
order to change the size of the opening. In the eye 
your iris changes the size of the pupil without your 
thinking about it. With every change in the amount 
of light the iris opens or closes a little. Isn’t it easy 
to see why your eyes get tired when you try to read 
with a flickering light ? 

On a sunny day when snow is on the ground, the 
light is so strong that it is difficult to take a picture 
with a camera without spoiling the film. The eyes, 
also, may be injured by too much light. This may 
happen when you sit facing the sun, or with the light 
from a lamp shining directly upon your face. When 
you read, be sure the light comes over your shoulder 
and does not shine directly into your eyes. It is better, 
too, to have dull paper, because paper which is shiny 
reflects too much light and produces a glare. 

People often get tired eyes and headaches from read¬ 
ing when they are lying down. This is probably be¬ 
cause the light is not good, or because it is hard to hold 
the book in the right position. Reading on moving 
cars is very tiring, too, because the book cannot be held 
steady and the eyes have difficulty in seeing the print 
clearly. 


208 


HEALTH 


Frequently an eyelash or 
a bit of dirt gets into the 
eye. This should be re¬ 
moved at once, but in such a 
way as not to cause injury. 
Do not let any one try to 
remove a speck from your 
eye unless you are sure he 
knows how to do it care¬ 
fully. Often, if you close 
your eye, the tears wash the 
dirt out. There is a little 
tube running from your eye 
into your nose where tears 
find their way. If you blow your nose, it may help 
the tears to wash across the eye and carry away the 
dirt. Do not try to get it out by rubbing. You will 
only irritate the eye and make it worse. There is an¬ 
other danger, too, in rubbing, because your fingers may 
carry germs into your eye, causing a sore. Fingers, 
pencils, and other articles should always be kept away 
from the eyes. 

You know how easy it is to break or harm a delicate 
thing like a camera. It is also very easy to injure the 
eye. Sometimes children in play throw things into 
each other’s faces, or strike at each other in fun, so 
that an eye is seriously hurt. Never do anything in 
play which may spoil some one’s eyesight for life. 

Since prohibition became a law in the United States, 








EYES AND EARS 


209 


many men have been willing to take poorly made al¬ 
coholic drinks. These drinks often contain wood al¬ 
cohol, which is a strong poison. It may even produce 
blindness. 

If you cannot see well, if you have headaches con¬ 
stantly, or if for any other reason you think there is 
trouble with your eyes, go to an eye doctor and have 
them examined. If the dogtor gives you glasses, use 
them regularly, or your eyes will not improve. “A 
pair of glasses on the eyes is worth two in the pocket!” 

Your eyes are so important that if they suffer, you 
will surely feel tired and uncomfortable. Neglecting 
your eyes, when they need attention, may keep you 
from doing your best work in school, and even, from 
growing as fast as you should. Are you giving your 
eyes good care by following these rules ? 

1. Do not read in a dim or flickering light. 

2. In doing close work, sit so that the light can come over 
your shoulder. 

3. Never allow a bright light to shine directly into your eyes. 

4. Be careful not to injure the eye in any way. 

5. Wear glasses if you need them. 

The ear, like the eye, is a wonderful instrument. 
Through it we have the sense of hearing. Every sense 
organ tells us something about the world around us. 
The ear tells us about the different kinds of sounds or 
noises. These sounds are caught by the ear and sent 
to the brain over a special nerve. 


HEALTH 


210 

You have all spoken to some one over the telephone. 
Probably each of you has spoken to some one by whis¬ 
pering in his ear softly, or to a deaf person by putting 
your mouth close to his ear. In some respects the ear 
and the telephone are alike. Each consists of three im¬ 
portant parts which are numbered in the picture. The 
section numbered one is for the purpose of catching the 
sound. In the telephone it is the mouthpiece, and in 
the ear it is the part which you see, with the opening ex¬ 
tending inward. The part numbered two in each case 
is a delicate and complicated structure for receiving the 
sound. Part three (the nerve of the ear and the wire 
of the telephone) is the means of carrying the message 
from .the ear to the brain or from the telephone to the 
person at the other end of the telephone line. 

The nature of the outer ear and that of the nerve are 
easily understood. Perhaps we ought to know a little 
more about that part of the ear which receives the sound 
and passes it on to the nerve. At the end of the 
passage from the outer ear is the eardrum. This is a 
delicate membrane which receives sound waves from 
the air and vibrates as the head of a drum vibrates when 
one beats upon it. On the other side of the eardrum is 
the middle ear. This is a hollow space, or tube, which 
is connected with the throat and filled with air which 
gets into it from the throat. Three little bones reach 
across this open space and carry the vibrations from 
the eardrum to another delicate membrane which sepa¬ 
rates the middle ear from the inner ear. 


EYES AND EARS 


211 



In the inner ear there is a marvelous structure which 
transmits these vibrations to the nerve. Sometime you 






























212 


HEALTH 


may have a chance to study this structure, which even 
the greatest scientists do not entirely understand at 
present. One part of the inner ear is not related to 
hearing, but sends messages to the brain to give one 
a sense of balance. 

Hearing is so important and the ear is so delicate that 
we do not want to take any chances of injuring our 
sense of hearing. We wash the ears carefully and 
refrain from putting anything into them. We are care¬ 
ful not to pull the ears of another person or to shout into 
them. You have just learned that the middle ear is 
connected with the throat. When one blows the nose 
forcibly and improperly, he may force fluid from the 
throat into the middle ear. As a matter of fact, ear¬ 
ache is usually caused by germs getting into the middle 
ear from the throat. The middle ear and the structures 
near it are delicate. Either earache or deafness de¬ 
serves the careful attention of a physician. 

In most schools hearing is tested regularly. Any 
child who finds that he does not hear well should go to 
his doctor at once. Sometimes it may be that wax has 
gathered in the ear passage outside the eardrum. If 
this is the case, the doctor is the person to remove it. 
If it is something more serious, prompt medical advice 
is particularly important. 


Questions to Answer 

1. How is the human eye like a camera ? 

2. How does the eye change its focus? 


EYES AND EARS 213 

3. Why do the eyes become tired from too much close work ? 
How can they be rested ? 

4. What is the proper distance between your eyes and your 
work ? Do you keep this distance ? 

5. What does the diaphragm of the camera do? 

6. What part of the eye acts like the diaphragm in the 
camera? Explain how it works. 

7. Why do the eyes get tired from working in a flickering 
light ? 

8. Why is it important not to throw a shadow upon your 
work? 

9. How are the eyes sometimes injured? 

10. What are the rules in this chapter for the care of the eyes ? 

11. How is the ear like the telephone ? 

12. How is it possible for a throat cold to make its way into 
the middle ear ? 

13. How is the proper blowing of the nose related to the care 
of the ears ? 


Things to Do 

1. Bring a camera to the class and examine the parts. Dis¬ 
cuss each part and tell what part of the eye it is like. 

2. Try the experiment described in this chapter to show that 
the eye cannot focus on near and distant objects at the 
same time. 

3. Using a movable chair at the front of the room, demon¬ 
strate sitting in correct position for reading with light 
coming from the right direction and your book or work 
held at the correct distance from the eyes. 

4. Add pages to your scrapbook to illustrate the proper care 
of the eyes. 

5. Ask your teacher or nurse to find out from your class 
records whether all the eye defects in the class have been 
corrected. If they have, put a statement on the black- 


214 


HEALTH 


board saying', a Our eye defects have been corrected one 
hundred per cent.” 

6. Make a list of rules for the care of the ears. 

7. Make true statements about the eyes or ears, using the 
following words: focus, distance, retina, iris, lens, glare, 
oculist, eyesight, glasses, eardrum, middle ear, injuiy, 
earache. 


XXVII 


SAFETY 

You would think a ship captain very foolish if he 
kept his boat in excellent condition and then care¬ 
lessly wrecked it upon a rocky ledge. In piloting your 
living ship, safety habits are quite as important as 
health habits. In fact, avoiding accident and injury 
is part of the Health Game. 

Boys and girls sometimes do reckless things think¬ 
ing they are brave. Here’s a story of an American 
boy in the World War who lost his chance to do 
brave deeds because he did not believe in being careful. 

He was a splendid chap at heart, but he was always 
endangering himself and other people by the foolish 
things he did, even when he was just a little boy. He 
played with matches and fire until an accident nearly 
cost his little sister’s life. He climbed the steepest 
cliffs in his neighborhood and many times barely 
escaped serious injury. Still he did not learn that such 
tricks are dangerous, and that life is % too precious to 
be so carelessly risked. 

When he went into camp with the other fellows, he 
soon won for himself the nickname of Smarty. 
Many of the boys disliked him because he played prac¬ 
tical jokes, such as pulling chairs out from under them, 
or fooling with his rifle just to scare them. Several 
215 


HEALTH 


216 

times some one was slightly hurt, but even this taught 
him nothing. 

After months of training “Smarty” was among the 
lucky ones ordered off to New York, which probably 
meant off to France. The special train was crowded. 
The platform of the station was filled with those who • 
came to say good-by. Boys in khaki were every¬ 
where. The air was full of shouts and laughter. All 
too soon came the loud call of the trainman, “All 
aboard! All aboard!” Then there were hurried fare¬ 
wells. The last few stragglers rushed aboard. From 
open windows and crowded platforms they called their 
cheery good-bys, and threw last kisses to the mothers, 
sisters, wives, and sweethearts they were leaving 
behind. 

The train was well under way, when suddenly from 
the forward steps of a car dropped “Smarty.” He 
threw his cap into the air, caught it again, and then 
with a wild spring jumped for the steps of the last car 
as it rushed past him. He missed! There was a heavy 
thud as his body struck. A great cry went up from 
the crowd. Those who were near closed their eyes 
that they might not see. 

When “Smarty” regained consciousness, he was 
lying in a white bed at the hospital. He couldn’t move, 
and his body was one terrible ache. A nurse came to 
him, fixed his pillows, and brought him water. Both 
his legs were broken, she said, and his back was in¬ 
jured, too. With all his heart he wished he were 


SAFETY 


217 


dead! To be lying in a hospital crippled by a foolish 
accident when his company was off for France! Can 
you understand a little of what it meant to him? 

For weeks he lay there, helpless, and for months 
afterward he got about only on crutches. The doc¬ 
tors did their best to help him, but there was no hope 
of his return to the service for a long, long time. In 
the meantime news came from France that his com¬ 
pany had gone into active service. He was wild to be 
with them, but because of his own foolishness he had 
lost his chance. 

How different is the story of another boy—a quiet 
lad who also enlisted early and trained hard. He was 
rather cautious and timid, and never cared to take 
part in rough, dangerous stunts with the others. 
“Lefty,” the boys called him, because he was left- 
handed. Although everybody liked him, no one sup¬ 
posed he would ever do anything remarkable. 

“Lefty’s” company, too, was among the first to go 
to France, where they were soon detailed to the region 
of heavy fighting. It did not matter much to “Lefty” 
where they went, for he had no real idea what hard 
fighting meant. He knew only that he was an en¬ 
listed man, trained to fight for his country, and ready 
to follow anywhere after his big, brave captain whom 
he worshiped. 

One night “Lefty’s” company took part in a big 
attack. The daring rush, the long, hard fight, and the 
forced retreat are matters of history. Hundreds of 


218 


HEALTH 


men were slain, and hundreds more were wounded. 
“Lefty” had scratches here and there, but nothing 
serious. As he sat in the corner of a dugout, half 
asleep with the weariness of the fight, he heard the 
news that his captain was missing. 

His captain missing! No time to lose! kk I could 
find him, sir!” he said, as he touched his hat in salute 
to the officer near. “I saw him slightly wounded, but 
I could not stay to help him.” What a proud moment 
for “Lefty” when he set forth to bring back his 
captain! 

Out he crept into the darkness of No-Man’s-Land. 
An occasional star-shell burst over head, and he flat¬ 
tened his body against the friendly earth, while his 
heart pounded with terror at the thought that each 
moment might be his last. It was horrible enough for 
him creeping about out there alone, but it was more 
horrible still to think that somewhere out there his 
captain was lying, wounded and cold—perhaps dead. 

Minutes were like hours, each more frightful than 
the last. Finally, in a shell hole, he came upon the 
familiar figure which he was seeking. Imagine the 
renewed strength and courage with which he crawled 
back to the trench, dragging with him his beloved 
captain! 

“Lefty” was daring enough when the big moment 
came! A brave man will risk his life when the need is 
great enough, but only a fool is willing to risk his life 
for nothing. History is full of the stories of men 


SAFETY 


219 


who have done daring deeds, at the same time being 
as cautious as possible in protecting themselves from 
danger. Look up some of these tales and tell them in 
class. They will impress upon you the fact that 
bravery is entirely different from carelessness. 

It actually pays to be a real common-sense sort of 
person. You may have heard about the man who 
wanted to hire a coachman. He asked each of three 
men, who applied for the job, how near he could drive 
to the edge of a certain steep cliff and yet be sure he 
was safe. The first man said he could drive within 
four feet of the edge. The second said he could drive 
one foot from it. The third said he would drive as 
far from it as possible. And he got the job! 

You would not be comfortable to ride with a man 
who is willing to drive as near as possible to danger. 
Neither would you care to take a long voyage on a 
ship with a captain who is always taking chances, for 
you feel sure that some day he will get into trouble. 
He may even wreck his ship. What chances are you 
taking with your living ship? 

Do you look both ways before crossing a street? 
Do you wait for the signal of the traffic officer at a 
busy crossing? Do you choose safe places for roller 
skating, coasting, and ball playing? Do you refuse 
to do dangerous swimming and diving stunts in deep 
water? Do you respect fire and electricity as won¬ 
derful servants of man, but as dangerous playthings? 

Boys and girls who are .careless of their own safety 


220 


HEALTH 


are often careless of the safety of others, too. They 
sometimes do things which injure other children for 
life. One boy throws sand in another’s face so that 
the other’s eyes are injured. Or a girl is seriously 
hurt because her brother pulls a chair from under her 
as she is about to sit down. A child playfully pushes 
his playmate’s head down on a bubbler fountain and 
a tooth is broken. Many accidents happen every day m 
factories, on the street, and in every place where num¬ 
bers of people come together. A great many of these 
can be prevented if people will be more careful to prac¬ 
tice constantly the habit of “Safety First. The num¬ 
ber of accidents is greatly increased where people use 
alcohol. You can easily understand why this happens, 
because you know that alcohol affects the mind and 
nervous system very quickly so that a man can t think 
as well, and has less control of his body. There are 
many places where men who use alcohol are never em¬ 
ployed, because of the danger of serious accidents. 

Perhaps you can make a list in your notebook of 
“Safety First” habits that boys and girls in your class 
need every day—at school, at home, at play, and on 
the street. Let your list include things you should do, 
as well as things you should not do. Illustrate some 
of these rules by pictures. 

Many classes have a Safety Committee, or some 
organization in which every member of the class has 
a particular responsibility. Let every one be a scout 
for safety! 


SAFETY 


221 


Remember, however, that while health and safety 
are of great importance, they are not the end and aim 
of life. Health is only a means by which we prepare 
ourselves for usefulness and good citizenship. Our 
health ideals are beautifully expressed by “A Health 
Creed” given to Massachusetts boys and girls by their 
State Department of Health: 

“MY BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF MY SOUL 
Therefore: 

I will keep my body clean within and without; 

I will breathe pure air and I will live in the sunlight; 

I will do no act that might endanger the health of others; 

I will try to learn and practice'the rules of healthy living; 

I will work and rest and play at the right time and in the 
right way, so that my mind will be strong and my body 
healthy and so that I will lead a useful life and be an 
honor to my parents, to my friends and to my country.” 

Questions to Answer 

1. How should one cross a busy street ? 

2. What are the traffic rules in the neighborhood of your 
home and school ? Do you follow these rules ? 

3. Do you help the smaller children on your street and in 
your neighborhood to get to school safely or play in safe 
places? Tell how you have helped in this way. 

4. Is a boy who is always “daring” some one to do dangerous 
things really brave ? Why ? 

5. Can you think of some practical joke some one once played 
that was dangerous or did some harm? Tell about it in 
the class. 


222 


HEALTH 


Things to Do 

1. Tell the story of the man who hired the coachman. 

2. Make a list on the blackboard of all the safety rules that 
are important for your own neighborhood. 

3. Discuss the places in your neighborhood that are safe 
and those that are not safe for play. 

4. Tell some story to the class about an act of real bravery. 
You may take this story from history or it may be a true 
story which you know about yourself. 

5. Make a list on the blackboard of different kinds of ac¬ 
cidents and tell how each can be prevented. 

6. On the last page of your scrapbook, copy the “Health 
Creed” given at the end of this chapter. Learn this 
creed and recite it together in class. 


Appendix 


DIRECTIONS FOR WEIGHING AND 
MEASURING 

Every child is interested in growing. The best way to watch 
growth is by determining the weight each month and the height 
two or three times during the school year. The increase in weight 
and height during these periods will not be great. Therefore, the 
weighing and measuring must be done in a definite and standard 
way in order that the results shall be true and accurate. 

Sometimes we determine how a child’s weight compares with 
that of the average child of his height and age. We must recog¬ 
nize, however, that the child’s interest in growth is universal. 
It is entirely feasible to use weighing and measuring as a means 
of interesting children in their growth without using the class 
statistics to determine the number of underweight children. 

In any case, however, careless weighing and measuring will pro¬ 
duce so many errors that the figures will not only be worthless 
from the statistical viewpoint, but they will also be worthless as a 
method of interesting the child, because his growth record will be 
inaccurate and unreliable. Age is taken to the nearest birthday. 

In weighing, any standard, reliable scale can be used. It should 
be balanced for accuracy at each'weighing period, or whenever it 
has been moved from one room to another. It is better to have 
the weighing done in the classroom if possible. 

A child should be weighed in indoor clothing with coat or 
sweater removed. He should stand quietly on the middle of the 
scale platform with hands at the sides. Both weight and height 
should be taken in the stocking feet; but if there is such prejudice 
as to make this impossible, it is better to weigh and measure with 
shoes on rather than to give up the project. The inaccuracy in- 

223 


224 


APPENDIX 


troduced because of wearing different kinds of shoes is more or 
less standard, and will not interfere with the child’s interest in his 
growth record. 


Measuring Standing Height 

Two instruments are necessary for measuring standing height 
—an accurate scale and some leveling device which may be placed 
on top of the head to indicate the exact height on the scale. 

The best measuring scale is made of the finest type of inextensi- 
ble and unshrinkable paper. It was originally suggested by the 
Committee on Anthropology of the National Research Council, 
and is available from the American Child Health Association, 
370 Seventh Avenue, New York. The right edge of the scale is 
divided in centimeters and millimeters, and the left edge is di¬ 
vided in feet, inches, and fractions of an inch. The scale may be 
tacked or pasted to a wall or specially prepared board. 

Yardsticks fastened one above the other on a smooth wall, or 
tapes tacked to the wall, may be used; but they are much less satis¬ 
factory, and care must be taken that they are accurately placed. 
Such a scale should be checked by a standard measure. 

In order to locate on the vertical measuring scale the point ex¬ 
actly level with the top of the head, some sort of leveling device 
is needed. A book or similar flat surface cannot be used ac¬ 
curately because it is difficult to be sure that it is held horizontal. 
The device commonly used is made of two pieces of well-seasoned 
wood, each about five inches wide and seven inches long, fastened 
together at the five-inch ends so that one piece is at right angles to 
the other, like the bottom and end of a box. If the shop depart¬ 
ment makes this device, a triangular brace piece may be added to 
stiffen the right angle, and a slot may be cut through this brace to 
provide a convenient handle. In use, one surface is kept against 
the scale while the other rests on the head of the person measured. 

The person stands with heels together. The heels, the upper 
back, and the head are against the wall to which the scale is at- 


APPENDIX 


225 


tached. The arms are at the sides in a natural position, and the 
head is in such a position that the visual axis is horizontal. The 
leveling device should be brought down two or three times in suc¬ 
cession on the top of the head, with enough force to feel the impact 
on the skull, the reading being taken from the last position. 

The Morning Health Review 

It has become common practice to use about five minutes each 
morning in checking evidences of good or poor health habits. 
The class is usually organized with captains or inspectors to check 
the cleanliness of hands, faces, teeth, nails, handkerchiefs, and 
shoes, as well as the neatness of hair and clothing. At the same 
time the teacher looks for symptoms of illness, such as colds 
and other communicable diseases, and sends at once to the nurse 
or doctor any child who is coughing or sneezing, or who has 
flushed face, red and watery eyes, a running nose, or a skin rash. 

This morning health review is also used to carry on campaigns 
for the establishment of particular practices not subject to check 
by the morning inspection. Most teachers prefer to emphasize 
one or two habits at a time. Stories, discussions, and special re¬ 
ports may be introduced briefly. 

The teacher takes care not to embarrass unfortunate children 
and protects them from the thoughtlessness of their classmates. 
Pupil activity and responsibility are developed as far as practi¬ 
cable. 

A daily record of inspection, kept by rows or individually, adds 
interest because it provides a measure of accomplishment. 

The Relaxation Period 

At io o’clock in the morning or at 2 130 in the afternoon, if 
there has been no physical training or relief period up to that time, 
some schools allow pupils to stand by their desks, facing the open 
windows, for two minutes of stretching exercises followed by 
brief, complete relaxation in their seats. 


226 


APPENDIX 


The School Lunch 

Many schools serve a mid-morning lunch of milk and crackers. 
This is usually served not later than 10 : 15 , in order that it may 
not interfere with the child’s appetite for the noon meal. Most 
school systems allow any child to have this lunch, and urge ex¬ 
tremely thin children to do so. In many places children bring 
their noon lunches to school with them. 

The educational opportunities in connection with any lunch at 
school should be utilized. Children should develop proper habits 
of hand-washing in preparing for the lunch. The lunch should be 
served with the maintenance of proper cleanliness. The lunch 
period should be pleasant and happy. The child learns to eat 
slowly. He develops good table manners and courtesy. 

The Recording of Health Habits 

When any plan for recording health practices is used, the child 
should understand that this recording is done to serve as a re¬ 
minder. The results of his health program will be measured by 
his growth, his success on the playground or in the classroom, or 
by other actual accomplishments. A perfect health score card 
or record chart is not an end in itself, but rather an aid in attain¬ 
ing an end. 

Each habit record should be kept for a period of at least two 
weeks, being recorded either upon sheets of ruled paper or upon 
the blackboard. The records may be kept by individual children 
or for rows, teams, or other groupings of the pupils. 

Classroom Activities 

The regular health or hygiene period should be used to orient, 
organize, and systematize the whole health-training program— 
not merely to provide an isolated instruction period for the giving 
of information. Health training requires continued interest and 
repetition. These can be best secured by making hygiene a part 


APPENDIX 


227 


of the curriculum and providing a fresh approach in each suc¬ 
ceeding grade. The regular monthly weighing of the class usu¬ 
ally takes the place of a hygiene period. It is a most valuable type 
of health lesson. Pupil activities, including the making of scrap¬ 
books and posters, may be developed in connection with the regu¬ 
lar hygiene periods. 

In many school systems a large part of the health program will 
be developed through long teaching units and through correlation 
between health and other subjects of instruction. It is believed 
that the material and suggestions in this book will lead to the de¬ 
velopment of classroom activities of this type. 

Coordination of Health Activities 

The school health program gains by coordination of effort and 
activities. With such coordination, the children come to recognize 
that the doctor and nurse are their friends, and the correction of 
physical defects becomes an important classroom project. Physi¬ 
cal education and health education are mutually strengthened by 
such relationship. 


228 


APPENDIX 


WEIGHT—HEIGHT—AGE TABLE FOR GIRLS 


Height 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

Inches 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

38 

33 

33 













39 

34 

34 













40 

36 

36 

36 












41 

37 

37 

37 












42 

39 

39 

39 












43 

41 

41 

41 

41 











44 

42 

42 

42 

42 











45 

45 

45 

45 

45 

45 










46 

47 

47 

47 

48 

48 










47 

49 

50' 

50 

50 

50 

50 









48 


52 

52 

52 

52 

53 

53 








49 


54 

54 

55 

55 

56 

56 








50 


56 

56 

57 

58 

59 

61 

62 







51 



59 

60 

61 

61 

63 

65 







52 



63 

64 

64 

64 

65 

67 







53 



66 

67 

67 

68 

68 

69 

71 






54 




69 

70 

70 

71 

71 

73 






55 




72 

74 

74 

74 

75 

77 

78 





56 





76 

78 

78 

79 

81 

83 





57 





80 

82 

82 

82 

84 

88 

92 




58 






84 

86 

86 

88 

93 

96 

101 



59 






87 

90 

90 

92 

96 

100 

103 

104 


60 






91 

95 

95 

97 

101 

105 

108 

109 

Ill 

61 







99 

100 

101 

105 

108 

112 

113 

116 

62 







104 

105 

106 

109 

113 

115 

117 

118 

63 








110 

110 

112 

116 

117 

119 

120 

64 








114 

115 

117 

119 

120 

122 

123 

65 








118 

120 

121 

122 

123 

125 

126 

66 









124 

124 

125 

128 

129 

130 

67 









128 

130 

131 

133 

133 

135 

68 









131 

133 

135 

136 

138 

138 

69 










135 

137 

138 

140 

142 

70 










176 

138 

140 

142 

144 

71 










138 

140 

142 

144 

145 


Prepared, by Bird T. Baldwin, Ph.D., and Thomas D. Wood. M.D. 


About what a G I R L should gain each month. 

Age Age 

5 yrs. to 8 yrs. 6 oz. 14 yrs to 16 yrs. 8 oz. 

8 “ “ 11 “. 8 “ 16 “ “ 18 “. 4 “ 

11 “ “ 14 “. 12 “ 

Courtesy of the American Child Health Association 








































APPENDIX 


229 


WEIGHT—HEIGHT—AGE TABLE FOR BOYS 


Height 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

Inches 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

Yrs. 

38 

34 

34 














39 

35 

35 














40 

36 

36 














41 

38 

38 

38 













42 

39 

39 

39 

39 












43 

41 

41 

41 

41 












44 

44 

44 

44 

44 












45 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 











46 

47 

48 

48 

48 

48 











47 

49 

50 

50 

50 

50 

50 










48 


52 

53 

53 

53 

53 










49 


55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 









50 


57 

58 

58 

58 

58 

58 

58 








51 



61 

61 

61 

61 

61 

61 








52 



63 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 







53 



66 

67 

67 

67 

67 

68 

68 







54 




70 

70 

70 

70 

71 

71 

72 






55 




72 

72 

73 

73 

74 

74 

74 






56 




75 

76 

77 

77 

77 

78 

78 

80 





57 





79 

80 

81 

81 

82 

83 

83 





58 





83 

84 

84 

85 

85 

86 

87 





59 






87 

88 

89 

89 

90 

90 

90 




60 






91 

92 

92 

93 

94 

95 

96 




61 







95 

90 

97 

99 

100 

103 

106 



62 







100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

107 

111 

116 


63 







105 

106 

107 

108 

no 

113 

118 

123 

127 

64 








109 

111 

113 

115 

117 

121 

126 

130 

65 








114 

117 

118 

120 

122 

127 

131 

134 

66 









119 

122 

125 

128 

132 

136 

139 

67 









124 

128 

130 

134 

136 

139 

142 

68 










134 

134 

137 

141 

143 

147 

69 










137 

139 

143 

14b 

149 

152 

70 










143 

144 

145 

148 

151 

155 

71 










148 

150 

151 

152 

154 

159 

72 











153 

155 

156 

158 

163 

73 











157 

160 

162 

164 

167 

74 











160 

164 

168 

170 

171 


Prepared by Bird T. Baldwin, Ph.D., and Thomas D. Wood, M.D. 

About what a B O Y should gain each month. 


Age Age 

5 yrs. to 8 yrs.6 oz. 12 yrs. to 16 yrs, 

8 “ *“ 12 “ .8 “ 16 “ 44 18 44 


Courtesy of the American Child Health Association 


16 oz. 
8 44 





































INDEX 


Abdomen, 126 Chewing, 79 

Abdominal organs, 126 Chilblains, 144 

Air, 180 Cigarettes, 8 

Alcohol, 8, 11, 25, 57, 84, 149, 171, Circulation, 178, 190 
172,173, 182, 183, 190, 200, 208, Clean food, 89 

220 Clean hands, 116 


Appetite, 199 
Apples, 74 
Arteries, 181 
Average weight, 15 

Bath, 114 
Beans, 49 
Bed, 167 

Between-meal foods, 95 
Bile, 83 
Blood, 181 
Blood vessels, 181 
Bone builders, 75 
Bones, 75 
Bowel habits,, 88 
Brain, 30, 147, 161 
Bread, 54, 64, 93 
Breakfast, 97 
Breathing, 120, 184, 190 
Butter, 57 

Cabbage, 65 
Calcium, 75, 104 
Calluses, 139, 142 
Candy, 56, 68, 93 
Capillaries, 184 
Carbon dioxide, 181, 184 
Carrot, 72, 74 
Cauliflower, 76 
Celery, 63, 65, 73, 76 
Cereals, 53 
Chair, 131 

Cheerfulness, 86, 151, 164 
Cheese, 49 
Chest, 129 


Cleanliness, 31, 112 
Clothing, 120, 198 
Cocoa, 49, 159 
Coffee, 148, 155 
Colon, 83 
Common cold, 200 
Concentration, 150 
Cooking, 87 
Corns, 139, 142 
Cream, 57 
Custards, 49 

Darwin, 12 
Dentine, 104 
Dentist, 108 
Diaphragm, 126 
Digestion, 78, 85 
Digestive juices, 78 
Digestive tract, 80 
Dinner, 99 
Drugs, 173 

Ears, 209 

Eggs, 48, 65, 72, 74 
Emotions and digestion, 85 
Enamel, 104 
Exercise, 184, 187 
Eyes, 203 

Foreign bodies in, 208 

“Fairies,” 47 
Fats, 53, 78, 83 
Feet, 138 
Fingernails, 117 
Fish, 49 



INDEX 


231 


Flatfoot, 141 
Foods 

Between meals, 92 

Bone builders, 75 

Energy foods (Go Material), 53 

Growth and repair (Protein), 44 

Iron foods, 71 

Regulators, 61 

Vitamins, 65 

Framework, of ship and body, 28 
Fried foods, 87 
Fruits, 63, 72, 105 

Games, 192 
Gastric juice, 82 
Gin, 172 
Glands, 82 
Glasses, 206, 209 
Grapefruit, 63 
Growth, 13 
Gymnasium, 135, 191 

Habits, 22 
Hair, 119 
Handkerchief, 120 
Headache, 127, 209 
Headache tablets, 174 
Health Creed, 221 
Health examination, 39 
Hearing, 209 

Heart, 162, 173, 176, 182, 190 

Indigestion, 127 
Intestinal juice, 83 
Intestine, 61, 126 
Large, 83 
Small, 82 
Iris, 205, 207 
Iron, 71, 179 
“Iron Knight," 73 

Lens, 204 
Lettuce, 65, 73, 74 
Ligaments, 139 
Liver, 126 
Liver, as a food, 74 
Lungs, 126, 184 

Macaroni, 55 
Measuring, 14, 234 
Meat, 49 


Milk, 45, 65, 75, 92, 105, 159 
Mind, 147 
Molasses, 74 

Morning health review, 225 
Morphine, 173, 174 
Muscles, 29, 161, 173, 188 

Nail biting, 118 
Narcotics, 172, 175 
Nerves, 30, 147 
Nervous system, 31, 147, 161 
Nervousness, 148, 150 
Nicotine, 175 
Nose, 120, 212 

Oatmeal, 54 
Obedience, 192 
Olive oil, 57 
Opium, 173 
Oranges, 63, 74 
Overweight, 17 
Oxygen, 178 
Oysters, 74 

Pancreatic juice, 83 
Patent medicines, 174 
Peas, 49 
“Pep,” 57 
Perspiration, 114 
Physic, 88 
Physical defects, 37 
Pickles, 97 
Pillow, 167 
Play, 187 
“Policeman,” 65 
Polished rice, 66 
Politeness, 86, 151 
Pores, 113 
Posture, 123 
Sitting, 128 
Standing, 133 
Potatoes, 55 
Protein, 78, 83 
Prunes, 74 

Raisins, 74 

Recording health habits, 226 
Red blood corpuscles, 71, 179, 181 
Regularity of eating, 91 
Regulators, 61 
Relaxation, 161 


INDEX 


232 

Relaxation period, 225 
Rest, 161 

Rest periods, 132, 161 
Retina, 205 
Rhubarb, 63 
Rice, 66 

Roosevelt, 5, 189 
Rubbers, 144, 199 
Rules of the Game, 24 

Safety, 215 
Rules, 219 
Saliva, 80, 85 
Scales, 223 
School lunch, 226 
Scurvy, 67 
Shoes, 141 
Shoulders, 128 
Six-year molars, 102 
Skeleton, 28 
Skin, 31, 113, 195 
Sleep, 161 
Spaghetti, 55 
Spinach, 65, 72, 76 
Starch, 53, 78 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 12 
Stimulants, 155 
Stomach, 28, 81, 128 
Stories 

A living ship, 27 
Cleaning a ship, 112 
Diary of a digestive system, 94 
Keeping hens, 153 
Letter from college girl, 22 
Maple sugar, 94 
Smarty and Lefty, 215 
Ted and Jack, 6 
Theodore Roosevelt, 2 
The baseball player, 148 
The Birds' Christmas Carol, 38 
The British soldier, 123 
The Brown and White Calf, 45 
The coachman, 219 
The Christmas Carol, 37 
The druggist’s errand boy, 86 
The farmer’s horses, 91 


Stories— continued 
The little red mill, 79 
The race from Alice in Won¬ 
derland, 18 
The Scotch clan, 54 
The Ship that Found Herself, 33 
Tom and his coffee, 156 
Whipping horses, 155 
William Tell, 158 
Sugar, 53, 78 
Sunlight, 193 
Supper, 98 
Sweets, 93 

Table manners, 86 
Tea, 148, 155 
Teeth, 75, 101 
Brushing, 105 
First, 101 
Temperature, 195 

Tobacco, 8, 20, 25, 96, 149, 171, 
175, 176, 183, 190 
Toenails, 145 
Tooth decay, 104 
Toothbrush, care of, 106 
Toothpaste, 107 
Towels, 119 
Trunk, 128 

Underweight, 16 

Veal, 74 

Vegetables, 63, 65, 76 
Veins, 181 
Vision, 40 
Vitamins, 65 

Water, 61, 80 
Weighing, 14, 223 
Whiskey, 172 

White blood corpuscles, 181 
Windows, open, 168, 198 
Wine, 172 
Work, 187, 191 

Yeast, 171 



























